Paths
by punklau
Summary: After foolish mistakes, two people wonder if what they have is worth saving. Will they be able to have a fresh start or will they make those foolish mistakes again? Even with so much more to lose?
1. Drowning

**Drowning**

* * *

"April." A blonde haired boy knocked on an apartment door, his shoulder length hair tied back with his hood over his head, "I know you're in there." He knocked again, leaning his forehead against the door and sighing to himself, "Please open up." He whispered to himself.

"Take the hint." A voice from behind said as the blonde haired man turned around and looked across at the old man standing across at his apartment door.

"Beat it." The blonde haired man shook his head.

"I'd imagine she doesn't want to talk to you." The older man nodded, "Phil." He hissed as the boy turned back around.

"How do you know my name?" Phil, or Punk to most asked.

"She talks." The older man nodded, "I wouldn't come back here if I were you."

"Yeah? Or what?" Punk walked over to him as the older man smiled a little.

"Really? You wanna come at me with that energy? Do you think that's the smart thing to do right now?" He asked.

"So she still lives here then." Punk nodded to himself.

"Yes." The older man said, "Now go." He warned as Punk sighed to himself.

"Just tell her it was me and that I'm… I'm back." Punk shrugged.

"I think she already knows." The man said as Punk nodded, backing away and rushing down the stairs as the older man watched him through the gaps in the spiral stairs, "You can come out." He called across the hall, listening to the lock unlatching as he watched a young girl creeping out, long dark hair covering her face.

"Is he gone?" She whispered as the old man, Kurt, nodded to her.

"He's gone." Kurt nodded to her as the young girl, April, nodded to him.

"Thank you." April or AJ to same nodded to him, slowly backing away into her apartment again and closing it over, locking it up.

* * *

"Jesus Christ, it's Shaun of the dead." A dirty blonde haired boy opened up the door, cigarette between his fingers whilst a bottle of beer clutched in his other hand.

"Hey." Punk pulled his hood down, walking into the apartment.

"Come in, big brother. Make yourself comfortable." He said sarcastically, closing the door behind him as Punk walked into the messy living room, taking his hoodie off and throwing it over onto the couch, "No hug?"

"Yeah, come here." Punk sighed, walking over and embracing his little brother, Dean, messing with his hair and squeezing him tightly.

"Missed you." Dean admitted as Punk patted his back.

"I missed you too." Punk nodded, "How you been? You good?" Punk asked as Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Dean said, "How come you're getting here so late?"

"I went to April's." Punk said, sitting down on the couch as Dean looked over at him.

"If she doesn't talk to me, do you really think she's gonna open the door to you?" Dean questioned.

"It was worth a shot." Punk said, "She's gotta talk to me at one point."

"Does she?" Dean asked, opening up the window in the stuffy apartment, sitting up on the back of the couch to puff his cigarette out the window, even though the place still reeked of booze and smoke.

"Yeah, she does." Punk said.

"You treated that girl like shit." Dean said, "I mean like… shit."

"No I didn't." Punk shook his head as Dean laughed a little.

"Don't kid yourself." Dean said, "You dated her from high school for four years. You cheated on her. You got her pregnant and left her-"

"I didn't cheat on her. We broke up. And I didn't leave her-"

"Oh, sorry, you got sent to prison." Dean corrected himself with an eye roll as Punk leaned back on the couch, "She was my best friend and now she doesn't even wanna talk to me. She hasn't for a whole year."

"What could I have done?" Punk asked.

"I told you not to get involved with those guys. I told you. April told you. You did it anyway." Dean said.

"Yeah, to get some money. They're not bad guys-"

"They just do bad things." Dean finished, "Tell me you haven't spoken to them since you got out?"

"Well I had to let them know I was out." Punk said.

"Are you kidding me?" Dean put his cigarette out and stood up.

"What? What do you expect me to do?" Punk said.

"Finish it." Dean spat.

"It is finished." Punk stood up, "It was finished when I went to prison-"

"Yet they're still in contact with you?" Dean asked.

"They were just checking up on me-"

"They kicked down April's door last month." Dean said as Punk looked across at him, "Literally, kicked her door down. They thought you'd gotten out early and were hiding-"

"Did they hurt her?" Punk ran his hand through his hair as Dean shook his head.

"No, well… not that I know of. I went to check on her and she wouldn't let me in." Dean shrugged.

"When… When did she give birth?" Punk asked. Being in prison really took his sense of time away.

"Three months ago." Dean said, "She had a girl. I… I don't know her name." He shrugged as Punk raised his eyebrows.

"I… I have a daughter?" Punk asked as Dean nodded.

"Yeah. I haven't saw her. April wouldn't let me." Dean said as Punk nodded, sitting back down on the couch and taking a minute to himself as Dean looked over, "You gonna go see mom?"

"What the hell do you think?" Punk looked at him as Dean nodded to himself, knowing the answer anyway, "I gotta see April." He shook his head, "I gotta explain."

"I don't think she's ever gonna wanna hear it, man." Dean said truthfully, "And what's there to explain? She knows what happened. She was there."

"I know but… It just… it got out of my control." Punk said.

"You invited that lifestyle in-"

"And so did she." Punk reminded him.

"Look I'm not arguing with you about this shit. We've done enough of that." Dean rolled his eyes as Punk nodded.

"Well I need a place to stay." Punk shrugged, "I'm not going to mom's."

"You can stay here." Dean nodded.

"Thanks." Punk said.

"I have a job now." Dean said as Punk looked up, "You remember Kofi from high school?"

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"Well he got me a job working with him on the construction sites. I can try get you in if you want?" Dean asked, "Because there ain't no way in hell you're going back to working for Rio and Chris."

"Yeah yeah, ok." Punk nodded, "Yeah, I'd appreciate you asking." He said as Dean nodded.

"This should be a fresh start for you." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Come on, Dean. You know I never meant for it to get as bad as it did." Punk said.

"You should never have gotten involved with them. You or April." Dean said.

"It was innocent. She knew Rio from hanging around with her brother. They're not bad guys-"

"They're terrible guys." Dean said, "Terrible. And you're gonna get sucked back in and then guess what? You're gonna be doing more time in prison." He said, "These guys use other people to take the fall for them. It's how they work."

"Is April's family still here?" Punk asked.

"No they moved back to Puerto Rico." Dean said.

"And she didn't go?" Punk questioned.

"Apparently not." Dean shrugged, "No idea what the situation was. Maybe she wasn't welcomed. You know how she was with her family."

"What about mom? What the hell has she been doing?" Punk questioned. He always thought spending a year in prison would feel like a lifetime, but getting out, he really felt like nothing had even changed. He didn't know if he was just in shock that he was actually out, finally.

"Nothing like usual. Getting drunk during the day. Getting drunk at night. You know… good old mom stuff." Dean nodded.

"What is April doing? How is she running the apartment? She got a job?"

"Dude, I haven't spoken to April since you went to prison, when she told me she didn't want to speak to me ever again. I have no idea what she's doing." Dean made himself clear.

"Well surely you've spoken to Maryse-"

"Nope, haven't spoken to her since you went to prison either." Dean said, "That clique we used to have, all the friends we had, they split as soon as you got sent down-"

"Why? None of it was my fault-"

"Because we're all kids and we don't wanna screw up our lives-"

"Like I did?" Punk questioned.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean nodded honestly as Punk ran his hands over his face.

"You think April is ever gonna talk to me? Or give me a chance?" Punk asked, "I wanna see my daughter."

"I don't know. I don't know what she's thinking or how she feels. A lot of shit went down." Dean nodded, "She had that kid on her own. She's only twenty."

"I would have been there for her if I could. You know that." Punk said as Dean nodded.

"I know, but… you weren't." Dean shrugged, "You can't take it all back now. What's done has been done." He said as Punk sighed to himself.

"I spent my whole life trying hard not to be our mom and dad." Punk said, "I think I turned out worse." He realised as Dean looked over at him.

"You got time to make it right." Dean said, finishing his beer, "Come get some leftover pizza in here." He nudged Punk.

* * *

"Shh… please stop crying." AJ whispered, looking down at the baby girl lying in front of her in her bed, watching as she cried and cried, "Please don't cry." She shook her head, scooping the three month old up into her arms and swaying her softly in her arms.

She got up from the bed in her room, walking through the small apartment and into the kitchen, "Are you hungry? Is that it?" AJ wondered, balancing the baby girl in her arms and making up a bottle for her, "Shh, it's ok." AJ soothed.

She really still felt like a child. Every day she felt like she didn't know what she was doing. She wasn't sure how she was managing to run the apartment, how she was managing to actually look after her baby. She felt like she had been thrown in the deep end, but held under water for too long to the point where she couldn't breathe and was drowning. Every day.

"Please don't cry for mommy." AJ said softly, looking down at the little angel she'd managed to gain out of this.

She made up the formula and sat down at the kitchen table, hoping the baby girl would take to the bottle, which she did, which thankfully silenced the cries in the apartment, giving AJ a minute to close her eyes and relax. It was so rare to find a minute of silence like this, and she took every second of it in.

"There we go." AJ said softly, looking down at the baby girl, stroking her cheek softly, turning around to the fridge where she saw a picture of her and her ex, a photo booth strip of them when they were just eighteen, before they both made ridiculous choices and decisions.

She remembered the joy she felt when they moved into this place. Coming from horrid backgrounds, to have a place to call home for them was so beautiful, it was a time in her life she would never forget. Extraordinary and magical for sure.

But now… now it was somewhere she felt imprisoned in. Somewhere she felt like she was drowning in.

* * *

**A/N: Another angsty one coming up. Review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Space

**Space**

* * *

"April." Kurt opened up the door to his apartment as AJ stood out on the landing, the stroller with her baby girl in it behind her, "Everything ok?" The older man wondered.

"Y-Yeah… could you help me take the stroller down?" AJ asked him, embarrassed to do so of course. Every time she had to ask him, it was just a slap in the face of reality that she was so very alone.

"Of course I can, honey." Kurt patted her arm softly, "I'll get it from the top." He said as AJ nodded, watching him lift the stroller at the top whilst she got the bottom, carrying it carefully down the stairs. Living on the top apartment block really had become a pain, even more so when she was nine months pregnant trying to walk up them every day.

"They really should get an elevator." AJ scoffed as Kurt smiled.

"Yeah, I don't think this shabby apartment block could afford that." Kurt laughed as AJ nodded.

"Probably right." AJ nodded.

They eventually reached the bottom floor thankfully, "There you go, honey." Kurt smiled.

"Thank you." AJ smiled.

"Are we off somewhere nice?" Kurt asked sweetly, looking in the stroller and smiling at the peaceful little baby.

"Uh… off to pay my rent, collect my unemployment and this one has a doctor's appointment." AJ nodded.

"You're walking into town?" Kurt asked, "I can give you a ride, April. You know that."

"No, I can get the bus, it's ok." AJ smiled, "Thank you, though. I appreciate you offering." AJ nodded sincerely. Small acts of kindness really made a big difference to her.

"It's really no problem." Kurt said.

"It's ok, I like the fresh air." AJ nodded, "I need it, I spend too much time in that apartment." AJ said as Kurt nodded.

"Is this little one ok?" Kurt wondered.

"Oh, she's fine. Just a check-up. She had a rash a few weeks ago and I have to go back for another cream." AJ shrugged as Kurt smiled. He admired her so much. Such a young girl yet such an incredible mother. He could tell by the way she cared for her daughter just how good a mother she was.

"Poor little thing." Kurt smiled, "You know… last night-"

"I don't really wanna talk about it. Or him." AJ made clear.

"I know, but… there are restraining orders for situations like this." Kurt nodded, "And you have my number. Not that I wouldn't hear him, but… you call me if he ever causes you trouble."

"I'll be ok." AJ nodded, "Thank you, Kurt." AJ smiled sweetly as he nodded.

"You take care of yourself." Kurt nodded, rubbing her on the arm softly as she nodded, watching as he left to go back upstairs whilst she headed out of the apartment building.

She opened up the door, struggling to lower the stroller down the few steps, sighing to herself with embarrassment.

"Let me help you."

She looked up, seeing him standing there. She didn't know if she was angry with him or relieved to see him. It was such a mix up of emotions that she didn't understand. Not after everything that happened. All she knew was that his choices had impacted her. And he had hurt her very much. She didn't want to go through that again.

"Get away from me." AJ warned him.

"Just let me help you." Punk put his hands up.

"Were… were you waiting on me coming out of here?" AJ questioned, wondering how he conveniently had just showed up.

"April, we gotta talk." Punk shook his head. Seeing her again was such a rush of emotions. He'd missed her. He wanted to hug her and kiss her, and escape into their own private world that they used to share. But he knew things were very far from that life.

"No, we don't gotta talk." AJ said, "I don't need your help, just get away." AJ warned as Punk stepped aside, not wanting to anger her anymore.

He then had to watch her struggle down the steps, slowly bumping the stroller down to the path at the bottom, "April, please. I want to explain it all to you. We should talk. Come on, you had my baby for crying out loud." He said, "And I wanna… I wanna meet her-"

"No." AJ shook her head, "You think I'm going to let you see her after everything that happened?" AJ asked.

"I'm sorry. I… I can't say it enough, I know." Punk said, "There's nothing I can do to make it up to you or make this better, I know that. We made some mistakes-"

"We?" AJ widened her eyes with shock, "We?"

"Don't act like you weren't involved in this. You were the one who introduced me to Rio-"

"Do not." AJ gritted her teeth, "Do not put this on me." She warned as he looked at her, "Yeah, we got into some trouble together when we were in high school, and yeah I… I introduced you to Rio but… I didn't tell you to work for him and do what you did. That was your decisions. Not mine." AJ made clear as Punk looked at her, "And then you cheated on me. Proving that you are exactly like all of those guys-"

"You broke up with me." Punk said.

"And I found you in our bed with some other girl a few hours later." AJ said, "I'll call that cheating if I want to." She said as Punk looked across at her, "I want nothing to do with you, Phil. Ok?" She made clear, "Stay the hell away from me."

"Wait… please." Punk took her arm and sighed, "April, I gotta make things right somehow. I did my time and I'm… I'm starting over-"

"You don't get to just start over and we forget all that happened." AJ said, "I've been here, living with your mistakes whilst you were safe in prison. I had my door kicked in last month." She spat, "Because of you-"

"I wasn't having a blast in prison." Punk reminded her as AJ rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry. I'll say it as much as you want me to. I truly am sorry for all of this. For what I did to you, for the choices I made, for not being here for you and…" He sighed, looking down at the stroller. He couldn't see his daughter because AJ was standing in the way deliberately, "What's her name?" He asked sadly as AJ looked at him.

She thought so much about writing to him three months ago when she had given birth. She'd even thought about sending him a picture of their baby girl, but then she would remember everything that happened, all the dumb things he did, and she realised her daughter deserved better than him.

"I don't have to tell you." AJ shook her head.

"April, please… she's my daughter." Punk said, "Just tell me and I'll… I'll leave you alone." He shrugged. He knew his ex. He knew the type of person she was. She was fiery, she was aggressive and harsh. But she was also sensitive and so caring with the biggest heart. And knowing he'd broken that heart killed him every day.

"Thea." AJ said, "Her name is… Thea." She nodded as Punk looked at her, smiling softly as AJ watched him, "Mendez." AJ made clear as Punk looked at her, running his hand through his hair, "Stay away from me. I'm warning you." She said, pushing by him.

"April, come on." Punk sighed, "We gotta talk." He shook his head, watching her hurry down the street.

* * *

"Where did you go?" Dean asked, watching Punk walk into the kitchen in the apartment.

"To attempt to talk to April." Punk shook his head, throwing his cap down on the kitchen table, "She absolutely hates me."

"Yeah, she does." Dean nodded, sitting at the table eating cereal.

"It's two in the afternoon, why are you eating cereal?" Punk questioned.

"Why not?" Dean questioned, "So you actually saw her?"

"Yeah, she was coming out of her apartment with the baby… who…" He sighed, "Her name is Thea." Punk smiled as Dean raised his eyebrows.

"She told you?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah. She didn't want to. And she made clear that I am not going anywhere near her." Punk nodded, "So… not looking good." He said, sitting down at the table.

"Thea." Dean said to himself, "That's sweet." He said as Punk nodded, "So what else did she say?"

"Nothing. She just… she blames me for all of this. She is right. No one forced me to get involved with Chris and Rio. That was on me." Punk nodded, "She warned me not to, she made me promise." Punk said.

"She's not a saint, though." Dean reminded him.

"Yeah, she's made her mistakes but they were… they were childish, high school mistakes like we all made. She grew up. We got the apartment and… and I ruined everything." Punk nodded, "And now I've lost her, I've lost my daughter."

"Maybe she'll come around." Dean shrugged.

"No, you should have seen the look on her face." Punk said.

"Isn't she just being angry with you to avoid showing that she actually missed you?" Dean wondered as Punk shrugged.

"I don't know. I gotta talk to Rio about kicking in her door. I mean… that shit isn't right. He has a problem with me, he comes to me. Not her." Punk said.

"I'd advise you just to stay away from him." Dean said, "The guy is trouble. He's the reason you went to prison for a whole year." He said, "Just stay away from him."

"I don't even know what I can do to make this better." Punk said.

"You gotta grovel. And beg." Dean shrugged, "I mean… she's a kid raising a kid. At one point, she's gonna want your help."

"This is April we're talking about. She's too proud to admit to anyone that she needs help." Punk said.

"But she's literally on her own. Her family have left. She has no friends and no job. It's her and that baby in that broken apartment, all alone." Dean said, "Who is to say she's not gonna wanna hear you out at one point."

"You think?" Punk asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm just trying to think of ways to make you feel better." Dean nodded as Punk sighed.

"We had something so good." Punk shook his head, "I've loved that girl since I was sixteen. And I still love her. She's… she's the only person who got me." Punk said, "She understood our situation with mom because she… she came from similar backgrounds." He said, "I still love her." He shook his head, "And I've fucking blew it." He said as Dean looked across at him.

"You've been out one day." Dean said, "Just… give her some space and let her think about it. Let her digest that you're out and you're here." He nodded, "She's done a lot of growing up in the past year. She's had to for the baby." He said, "She probably thinks the best thing for her is to avoid you and all the problems that went on. It's a smart decision." Dean nodded.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Punk questioned.

"But…" Dean emphasised, "I mean… she's still in love with you, obviously. I mean… why would she still be hurting so bad after a year? Why would she go through with the pregnancy and have your baby?" He asked, "I saw you two, you guys had something good, and yeah… you fucked it up."

"I know I did." Punk said.

"But you gotta let her hate you." Dean nodded, "So she can… learn to allow herself to love you again." He said as Punk sighed to himself.

"Yeah." Punk said, "How did you even get this place?" He suddenly wondered.

"Once I got the job with Kofi, got enough money and got on the list, started renting it a couple months ago." Dean nodded, "You know you can move in and start paying half the rent." He said as Punk nodded.

"I'm gonna need a job for that." Punk sighed.

"I told you I'd hook you up with Kofi." Dean said, "Maybe getting your shit together might prove to April that you're serious about… being a dad and starting fresh." He said.

"Yeah." Punk realised, "Yeah, I wanna… I wanna see my kid. I wanna meet her. She was right there in front of me and I… April was standing in front so I couldn't see her." Punk said, "She's protective."

"Hell yeah she is." Dean said, "Like a damn lioness protecting her cub." He said as Punk nodded. It was a pretty accurate saying to compare to the sight he saw today.

"I gotta make it right again." Punk said.

"Not gonna happen overnight, buddy." Dean stood up, patting him on the back as Punk nodded and sighed, "Spare bedroom is officially yours, you can come with me to the site tomorrow and I'll speak to Kofi about getting you the job." He said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, thanks ma. Thanks for this." Punk sighed, "Some big brother I am." He shook his head.

"You got yourself into a pickle. Made some mistakes. I can forgive. You're my brother." Dean said, "You didn't leave me with any broken promises, though. Or a baby for that matter." Dean said, "Give her space." He patted him on the back before leaving the kitchen. It was the only appropriate advice he felt he could give his brother right now.


	3. Uncertain

**Uncertain**

* * *

"That's not the most glamorous job." Punk admitted, coming home late with Dean after his first day on the job. It helped out with keeping his probation officer sweet. Finding a job really gave him stability. It gave him money and a clean start. Something he hoped would impress AJ in any way shape or form.

"Yeah, but it's fun, right?" Dean nodded.

"Yeah, it was… it was good to be out in the fresh air and busy." Punk said, "Sure beats prison." He nodded, sitting down at the kitchen table as Dean nodded.

"Yeah, how was that?" Dean asked, "I know I visited you and you said you were sweet but-"

"It was what it was." Punk nodded, "It was scary, eye-opening, lonely." Punk said.

"Enough to scare you from doing anything stupid again?" Dean wondered.

"For sure." Punk nodded, "I was really holding out for a visit from April. I thought she'd come." Punk said.

"Did you really?" Dean asked as Punk nodded.

"Well I…. I guess I just held onto the hope that she would." Punk said, "I wish I could just take it all back." He sighed.

"Well you can't." Dean said, grabbing a beer from the fridge and popping it open, "No point in thinking like that." He said, sitting down at the table with him.

"What if she never forgives me? What if this is it? Over?" Punk asked, "And I never get to see my kid?" He shook his head as Dean sighed.

"Look, I can't tell you what she's thinking. I can guess because I… I know the girl. I've known her since we were sixteen. She doesn't trust anyone like she trusted you." Dean nodded as Punk looked at her, "You know the whole story with her family. How messed up they are. She's never trusted anyone in her entire life until she met you and then…"

"Then I ruin it and I hurt her." Punk nodded.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, "She probably feels like her back is up against the wall." He said, "She's taking care of a baby and she's only twenty. She's got no job and she's living in a scary apartment block on her own." He said, "She's in full protective mode, of herself and of the kid." He said as Punk nodded.

"So you think she could never trust me again?" Punk asked.

"You slept with someone else. In your bed you had with her. That's… that's horrible." Dean nodded. He was always honest with his brother. They had a very honest relationship.

"We had broken up. We had a fight and she said she didn't want to be around me anymore. That she wanted to break up. I was upset-"

"Ok, all of that, everything you're saying… she doesn't care about that." Dean nodded, "All she knows is, things got tough and instead of wanting to work it out, wanting to better yourself, fix things… you ran and you got in someone else's pants. That's where her mind went." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, fair enough." Punk said, "I never wanted to hurt her, though."

"I know you didn't, buddy. I know you love her, and I know she's your one. She has been since you met her when she was the new kid in school. But now she's the mother of your kid and you're the guy who foolishly risked a life with them for Rio." Dean said.

"I needed the money and one thing lead to another. She knows that. She introduced me to him so that I could get money." Punk shook his head.

"I know and she's wrong for that. And she knows she is. Those were dumb high school shit that you two got involved in, thought you were some sort of Bonnie and Clyde. She got out of it, you stayed. That's where the problems happened." Dean said, "You chose to stay."

"I know I did. Don't tell me everything I know happened." Punk scoffed, "She was fine with it."

"No she wasn't. Maybe at first she tried to be ok with it but then she… she realised that she was turning into her parents, and so did you." Dean said, "She tried to get you away from it and you didn't. That's what you have to be sorry for. Because when everyone turned their back on you, she was still there, fighting for you, trying to help you." He said, "That's what you threw away."

"I know." Punk said, "I know and it sucks." He said, "Knowing I wasn't there for her whilst she was pregnant. I couldn't see my daughter being born. I don't even know what she looks like." He rolled his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, I thinks he gave birth alone." Dean said as Punk sighed, "But hey, I was on her ass the entire time. I wanted to help her. I mean… it's my niece. I wanted to be there for her, for whatever she needed… she wouldn't let me." Dean shrugged.

"Well thanks for trying." Punk nodded.

"I know that this sucks." Dean said.

"I brought it on myself." He said, "You're right. Dumb high school shit turned serious and I… I couldn't get my head out of my ass to realise it. I was just… I had fun with Rio. It sounds horrible but I did."

"So did I. He's not a bad guy. That's the issue." Dean said, "But he does bad stuff, and he gets people involved and that's how people like you end up in prison for a year." He said, "Plus it's not so much Rio you gotta look out for it's… it's who he associates with." He said as Punk nodded.

"I just miss her." Punk shook his head, "I miss her more than anything in the world. And I hate not being able to do anything to make it right." He said.

"It's gonna take time." Dean said, "Trust me, if you just keep your head down, keep out of trouble and keep down a job… she might be more approachable, she might realise you're taking this shit seriously now." He said as Punk nodded, listening as there was a knock at the door.

"You get it." Punk told him as Dean nodded, getting up from the table and heading down the apartment to answer the door, opening it up and groaning to himself.

"What?" Dean groaned, "We don't got money for you."

"I'm here to see my son. The other one." A blonde haired woman hissed, staggering in the door as Dean rolled his eyes, "Phillip, sweetheart." She opened up her arms, stumbling into the kitchen as Punk looked up at his very drunk and possibly high mother.

"Nope." Punk shook his head.

"Oh, come on." Their mother, Sam, said, wrapping her arms around him from behind as Punk shook his head.

"You stink." Punk said as Sam laughed, "If you're here for money, you aren't getting it." Punk told her as Sam scoffed.

"Do you think that's all I ever want from you boys?" Sam questioned.

"Yes, it is always what you want." Dean said, "So leave."

"How was prison?" Sam sighed, "Did they hurt you in there? What did they do to you?" She cupped Punk's cheeks as Punk stood up from the chair and backed away.

"Just get out." Punk made clear, "I seriously don't know the last time I saw you sober. I really don't." Punk said truthfully as Sam looked at them both, stumbling back a little.

"I… I just need a twenty." Sam nodded, "Please." She placed her hands on the table to balance herself as Punk turned to Dean who shook his head.

"Go find it somewhere else." Dean said as Sam looked at them both.

They both didn't know their mother in any other form. She had always been drunk or high on drugs or sleeping around, even when they were just little kids. They raised themselves and eventually each other. She really had no influence on them. She never took care of them. If anything, they took care of her.

"I owe it to someone." Sam said.

"No… no, bullshit!" Dean yelled, "You say that to me all the time and I know you just go spend it on a bag of cocaine or booze. You're not getting shit from us. Alright?" Dean spat, "Get the hell out."

"Phil." Sam turned to Punk desperately as Punk shook his head. It wasn't being cold. They'd lived with their mothers lies, her stealing, her habits all their life. At times they had been homeless because of her drug habits, or even worse, living with other people, other men. They didn't owe her anything.

"Go." Punk advised as Sam stumbled back, hitting herself against the door and nodding, stumbling away out of the kitchen and leaving the apartment as Dean shook his head, "You know… things really haven't changed since I went to prison. When I left mom was a drunk and AJ hated me… I'm back and same thing applies."

"Yeah well mom's always been a drunk and she always will be." Dean shook his head as Punk nodded.

"She been harassing you?" Punk asked.

"Off and on." Dean nodded, "I just send her packing every time. We don't gotta put up with that anymore." He said as Punk nodded.

"Does she know about April and the baby?" Punk wondered.

"No, well… I never told her so I don't see how she could." Dean said, "Not like she would care." He said as Punk nodded, "I'm gonna turn in for the night." He said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I'm gonna grab some food and then crash." Punk said as Dean nodded, leaving the kitchen as Punk sat down at the table.

* * *

"Stupid water." AJ shook her head, trying to run the taps in the kitchen sink. She'd lost count of the amount of water troubles she'd had in the apartment. From the shower, to the taps, to the toilet. The system was shocking.

She left the apartment, running across to Kurt's and knocking on the door as he came immediately, "You ok?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Well, my water is off again. Is yours?" AJ asked.

"No, I've been good." Kurt said, "You want me to take a look?" He asked as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I just… I have a sink full of dishes that need done." AJ said as Kurt smiled and nodded, walking over into the apartment with her, "Just gotta be quiet. I just got Thea down." She said as Kurt nodded, quietly making his way into the kitchen with her.

"Might just be a blockage." Kurt nodded, opening up the cupboard under the sink and taking a look as AJ folded her arms and watched.

"I gotta take a crash course in plumbing." AJ laughed a little as Kurt smiled.

"Well technically the handy man around here should fix this but… well, hes never here." Kurt nodded, "Joys of living in a run down apartment block"

"Yeah." AJ figured.

The apartment wasn't ideal. It was small, at times damp with so many problems within it. Of course she was thankful that she had somewhere to live, especially with Thea. She remembered when they first got the apartment, straight out of high school. It really felt like a home then. Now it was just somewhere she lived.

"So… how are things with that ex of yours?" Kurt asked, "I know you said you didn't wanna talk about it but I got a feeling maybe you do."

"I really don't." AJ said truthfully as Kurt nodded, staying silent and waiting as he knew AJ would say something about it, "I just can't trust him, you know?" AJ sighed as Kurt looked up.

"Do you still love him?" Kurt asked as AJ nodded, "And what do you want for Thea? Do you want her to know him?"

"I thought I didn't but… I don't know. I don't know what I want." AJ said, "He hurt me. He was all I had and he hurt me. I tried to help him get out of everything but… he didn't to. He pushed me away and then he went to prison-"

"How long have you known him?" Kurt asked.

"Since I was sixteen." AJ nodded, "We had… similar backgrounds. We never went home, ever. We always found parties and just crashed at people's houses. Got into a lot of trouble sometimes." She nodded.

"You? In trouble?" Kurt shook his head.

"Yeah, believe it or not." AJ nodded, "But he took it to the extreme. And now here I am, with his baby, literally… trapped in this place." She shook her head, sitting down at the table, "I swear sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating." She shook her head, "I'm just… I'm turning into my mom. I am her. Had a baby at nineteen. I have no money. No family or friends." AJ said, "No job. And I can't get a job because I have no one around to look after Thea." She said as Kurt sighed, looking over at her, watching her placed her hand over her forehead.

"You're still young, honey." Kurt nodded, "I know that seems like such a horrible piece of advice… it's not really advice. But… you got time. You're brave and you're strong. I think you're an amazing mom. That boy was stupid to risk losing you and that little girl."

"I just… I don't know what to do. I hate him. I hate him for what he did. And I don't trust him."

"Then he shouldn't be in your life." Kurt nodded as AJ looked at him, "If you don't got trust, you don't got anything."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right." AJ nodded as Kurt went back under the sink, trying to fix the blockage whilst AJ looked over at the fridge, staring at the pictures of her and who she thought was the only person she could trust in the entire world. Her everything. She just couldn't let him back in her life. Not when she could remember the pain of losing him, of being hurt by him. It scared her too much.


	4. Reality

**Reality**

* * *

"You're the sweetest little baby ever." AJ said softly, looking down at Thea in her crib which was in her own bedroom. The apartment was a one-bedroom apartment, so she and Thea were sharing the room with her crib at the bottom of the bed.

"I love it when you don't cry." AJ smiled, stroking her cheek softly as the baby girl lay in her crib, looking up at her. Despite it being the toughest thing she'd ever done, she loved her daughter so much. She was the most important thing in her life and every day she just tried to do right by her, "Are you gonna sleep for mommy?" She whispered, watching Thea's little eyes close.

She was a lot like her, even the nurses said it when she had just given birth. She had the same soft, caramel skin, the same dark hair and eyes, but whenever she smiled, she could see her ex for sure.

"Yeah, close your eyes." AJ whispered, watching as she fell asleep, pulling the blanket up a little before leaving the room. Just as she was leaving the bedroom, she heard a knock at the door.

She tiptoed over to the door, leaning up and looking through he peep hole as she saw Dean standing, sighing to herself and groaning.

She opened up the door to him, looking across as he nodded to her, "Hey." Dean said.

"What?" AJ said, "If you're here on behalf of him, just… just please leave me alone." AJ nodded.

"No, no I'm here for me. Maybe a little him but… I want to talk to you." He said as AJ sighed.

"You need to be quiet." AJ nodded, letting him into the apartment as Dean walked in quietly, "Go to the kitchen." She told him as Dean nodded, walking down the apartment and into the kitchen as AJ followed.

"Renovating?" Dean asked, looking at the kitchen sink pulled out from the wall.

"No. The water isn't working." AJ said, "Someone is coming to fix it tomorrow." She nodded as Dean sat down at the kitchen table, making himself comfortable, "What are you doing here?"

"Phil told me he bumped into you." Dean said.

"He didn't bump into me." AJ shook her head, "He was waiting on me coming out of the apartment. It's harassment."

"No, it's your ex who still loves you, trying his hardest to convince you that he's changed." Dean said.

"I don't care if he's changed." AJ shrugged, "I don't. What he did, he did… he can live with that now. I'm moving on."

"Moving on to what, exactly?" Dean asked, "This place is falling apart. You don't speak to any of your friends. You don't come out of here. You don't got a job-"

"Because I have a three month old baby." AJ spat.

"Yeah, who Phil deserves to see." Dean said, "He's not a bad guy and you know that. He wouldn't hurt you or Thea." He said.

"He did hurt me so that theory doesn't mean shit to me." AJ said, "Do you know what it feels like to have someone? To love someone and them be the only person in your life that you trust? The only person that gets you… and then they hurt you, they leave you, they cheat on you… that's what he did." AJ nodded as Dean looked across at her.

"It wasn't cheating. You were broken up-"

"Oh, just get out." AJ said, trying to keep calm, "Get out."

"No, I'm staying and I'm talking to you." Dean said as AJ looked at him, "He just wants a chance to explain, to talk it out with you. He made some mistakes. And so did you-"

"My mistakes never got anyone hurt." AJ reminded him, "I was a dumb, high school kid seeking some sort of cheap thrill… he carried it on into a lifestyle." She said, "So don't try and bring me down with him."

"I'm not." Dean said, "I'm just saying, you probably know how easy it is to get carried away." Dean said, "He did his time and there's no one that hates him more than he does. He knows what he lost and he's a damn mess. I've never saw him like this." He said, "He misses you. He hates himself for what he did."

"Good. He should." AJ said bluntly.

"Come on. You know Phil. He's not a bad guy." Dean said as AJ looked over at him.

"I don't want him in my life. I don't trust him." AJ said.

"So you're gonna take Thea's chance to get to know her dad away too? Because you're bitter?" Dean asked.

"Like he would be any sort of a father to her." AJ rolled her eyes.

"How dare you say that." Dean hissed, "He hasn't even saw what she looks like. He's not had a chance-"

"He knew I was pregnant and he carried on working for Rio, and then he got sent to prison. He didn't have mine or my baby's interest at heart. And then… then he cheated on me, whilst I was pregnant." AJ said, "So forgive me if I don't imagine him as the best father in the world."

"You gotta talk to him. You gotta let him explain-"

"There's nothing to explain, Dean! I was there. I know what happened. He doesn't have to reveal anything to me." AJ said.

"Then just let him apologise, and hear him out." Dean said, "He loves you. He never stopped loving you."

"You don't hurt the people you love." AJ said, "The choices he made got him here. No one else."

"Come on, you know Rio. Once you work for him, you're in-"

"And I got him out." AJ reminded him, "I spoke to my brother, he spoke to Rio… Phil was out, he wasn't gonna be bothered and he still went back." AJ said, "I tried to help him-"

"And don't you think Phil knows that? He's kicking himself for everything." Dean said.

"Well it's not my problem anymore." AJ said.

"Who the hell are you trying to fool?" Dean asked, "I know you still love him. I see the pictures on the fridge. You're not fooling me." He said as AJ folded her arms, "I'm not telling you to give him a chance, to take him back or whatever… just hear him out."

"No." AJ said as Dean stood up from the table.

"Fine." Dean nodded, "Fine, but this… pushing every single person away, trapping yourself in this place… you're gonna end up insane and you know it." He pointed as AJ glared across at him, not having anything else to say, "I'll see myself out."

* * *

"What'd she say?" Punk asked, standing in the kitchen in Dean's apartment after he returned back from AJ's. He had no clue he was even going to talk to her.

"Well she's still pissed, let's put it that way." Dean nodded, "Surprised she opened up the door to me, though. That's progress." Dean said.

"You should have just left it. Like you said, just give her space." Punk shrugged.

"She's gonna end up sick." Dean shook his head, "Trapping herself in that apartment. Which by the way, is a damn mess." He said as Punk looked across at him, "She can't live so isolated like that."

"Well what am I supposed to do? She doesn't wanna see me." Punk said, "She has a right to be pissed. I don't expect forgiveness."

"Yeah, I know… and I know what I said about giving her space but… your kid is there. You have a right to see her. She thinks you're gonna be a terrible dad and that there's no point in you being there."

"She said that?" Punk asked, feeling hurt of course.

"Yeah. Without flinching." Dean nodded, "She needs to hear you out. Screw what I said about waiting. She needs to hear what you have to say. Maybe she'll feel different when she sees you."

"Well she didn't feel different the other day." Punk said, "Why the sudden change of mind?" He wondered. He knew his brother was always honest, and he thought he'd given pretty good advice about giving AJ space, but it appeared he had changed his mind.

"I don't know, I was thinking about it and… you guys had something good. Something rare. She needs you, whether she wants to admit it or not." Dean said, "And you need her. You guys can start fresh-"

"That's what I want but I can't do that with her if she doesn't trust me. And… And you know, I don't expect her to after what I did." Punk sighed to himself.

"I miss it when things were good." Dean admitted, "I miss having fun. Now everyone has just gone into hiding." He shook his head as Punk nodded.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Punk said.

"What?" Dean shook his head.

"Well, you're right. She's gotta hear me out. She's gotta hear everything I have to say and then… then she can decide what she wants. All I can do is be honest and tell the truth. Tell her how I feel." He said.

"She's not the same April that she was back then. She's went through shit."

"Yeah and I was the one who was supposed to be there for her." Punk said, "I gotta start somewhere." He shrugged, leaving the apartment as Dean scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Dean said.

* * *

"That'll be one hundred bucks."

"Excuse me?" AJ looked on at the handy man who had come to fix the water in her apartment. After speaking to the landlord, she was told there would be a handy man coming to fix it for her and that it would be free.

"One hundred." The man nodded as AJ looked at him.

"I… my landlord told me it would be free." AJ said, "It's not like I broke it." AJ laughed a little as the man looked at her, placing his hand on the kitchen counter.

"It's not free of charge." He made clear, "One hundred bucks."

"I… I don't have money in my purse." AJ said, lying of course. She didn't have one hundred dollars in her bank, never mind with her in the apartment, "I was told this is free. I shouldn't have to pay." She shook her head as he looked at her.

She suddenly watched as he looked her up and down, getting chills up her spine as she took a step back and folded her arms over herself. She knew that look. She'd gotten that look many, many times.

"I…" AJ gulped, not knowing what to say, "Please, I have a baby. I need the water back on for her at least. For her bottles." She nodded as the man looked at her.

"I can do you a deal." The man shrugged as AJ looked across at him.

"I have no money here at all." AJ made clear, suddenly watching him playing with the belt on his pants as she looked down at the ground.

"That's ok." The man said, "Why don't you come over here?" He asked as AJ looked over at him. If this was a year ago, she would have ran. She was good at running. But it was now, and now she had someone else to think about. Her daughter. Who needed her bottle and who needed baths.

"I can get the money to you by the end of the week." AJ nodded. If there was one thing she'd learned over the past year, living on her own, it was that there was so many cruel, awful people in the world.

"No, I need it now." He assured her as AJ looked at him, "Come here, sweetheart." He said as AJ looked at him. She really couldn't see where her choice was in all of this. She had no choice, "I said come here." He spat, grabbing her over and bending her over the kitchen table as AJ froze, "Yeah, just you stay right there." He nodded as AJ listened to his zip going down.

She shut her eyes and leaned her head against the kitchen table, telling herself it would be over soon, blocking the whole room out, when suddenly she no longer felt the man gripping her by the waist, looking up as she saw Punk choking him out of the kitchen.

She rushed out of the kitchen, watching as Punk threw the man against the wall back and forth, kicking him so hard on the face that she heard a loud crunch, watching the man crawling painfully out of the apartment as Punk kicked him out.

"Phil." AJ hissed, running to the door and watching as Punk kicked him down the stairs, "Stop it." AJ warned him as Punk turned to her, a little out of breath from all the fighting.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked her, walking back into the apartment as AJ looked at him, "Who the hell is that?" He spat, desperately wanting to go back out and do more damage to that man's face.

"He… he was…" AJ didn't know what to say, suddenly listening as Thea began to cry from the bedroom. AJ immediately walked away and into the bedroom, closing the door behind her as Punk shook his head, running his hand through his hair as he looked at the apartment.

He walked down the hall and back into the kitchen. He'd never saw a sight that angered him so much. He wasn't a fool. He could see nothing consensual was happening.

He looked around the kitchen and noticed the kitchen sink was pulled out, putting one and one together and realising the man was probably there to fix something. He then saw the pictures on the fridge which he remembered putting up himself.

There were a few. A photobooth strip of them when they were younger, a few others that they'd taken of each other. When things were easy and exciting, when he knew he'd found his one. It was sad to see how things had worked out for them… or not worked out.

He listened to his baby daughter crying from the bedroom, running his hand through his blonde hair and making his way out of the kitchen and over to the bedroom.

He opened up the door slowly and saw AJ standing in the cluttered room, holding the baby girl in her arms, swaying her back and forth softly whilst whispering soothing words to her.

"April." Punk said quietly as AJ ignored him. He could see, looking closely, that she was crying.

She wasn't crying over what happened, she was crying because he had saw her reality. It was easier to keep that to herself.

"Please go away." AJ said, keeping her back to him.

"You need to talk to me." Punk said, "Please." He said desperately.

"Please just leave." AJ said over Thea's cries, under her own cries.

Punk sighed to himself, watching her keep her back to him. He couldn't force her to talk to him, but knowing that she was struggling this much, knowing she was this alone and isolated, it broke his heart.

AJ listened as he closed the bedroom door over, walking off as she heard the apartment door close over. She took a deep breath and sighed, walking out of the bedroom, opening up the door and stepping out, gasping a little when she saw he was still standing, having just shut the door over.

"I'm not leaving you after that." He made clear, looking over as he got a glimpse of his baby girl, raising his eyebrows as he could see how much she looked like AJ, how sweet and beautiful she was. He was taken back.

AJ watched as he looked on at Thea, not taking his eyes from her, already seeing his eyes full of love.

"She's… she's beautiful." Punk shook his head, walking a little closer as AJ watched him, stepping back a little as he paused, "We… We have to talk." Punk said as she looked up at him.


	5. It Got So Complicated

**It Got So Complicated**

* * *

"What part of leave me alone aren't you getting?" AJ spat, coming out of the bedroom after putting Thea down, "I don't want to talk to you." She said, walking off into the kitchen as Punk followed her.

"Well I want to talk to you." Punk said, "And how the hell do you expect me to just walk away after seeing… after walking in on…"

"Yeah, I get it." AJ said.

"Who is he?" Punk shook his head as AJ looked across at him.

"I-I don't know." AJ said, "He was… he was fixing my water. Well, he was gonna. Then you threw him out."

"He didn't look like he was fixing your water to me, April." Punk looked across at her.

"Hi, I'm April and I have no money." AJ nodded as Punk shook his head, suddenly realising what had been going on.

"You weren't…" He sighed to himself, "No, April-"

"I no longer have a choice." AJ spat as Punk ran his hands over his face and sighed, "I need water… I need it to make up Thea's bottles, and she has her bath at night, she loves the bath." AJ said, feeling a lump in her throat as Punk looked at her, "And I had no money-"

"That doesn't mean he can do that. Aren't these guys supposed to come for free?" He asked her.

"Yeah." AJ shrugged as Punk sighed.

"Well here… let me take a look at it." Punk said.

"No, it's fine. Don't do me any favours." AJ rolled her eyes, watching as he walked over to the sink anyway, looking underneath it as she watched him.

"What is it? Some sort of blockage or something?" He looked around, unscrewing some things and taking a look as she watched him. It was surreal for him to even be here. She was still in shock that he was back in her life, even though she was reluctant to let him in.

"I don't know what's wrong with it." AJ shrugged, watching him unscrew some things, reaching up and turning the tap on as she watched the water run from it, placing her hand on her chest with relief as Punk smiled to himself.

"Whoever connected this shit is stupid. One of the caps was in the wrong place." He said.

"You connected it when we moved in here." AJ raised a brow as Punk realised.

"Oh, yeah." Punk nodded, standing up, "Well that should be it." He said, sliding the sink back in and closing everything up.

"So what… are you a plumber now?" AJ folded her arms.

"Learned some stuff in prison believe it or not." Punk said, "And I've started walking with Dean on the construction sites." He said as AJ nodded slowly.

"Well good for you." AJ nodded as Punk looked across at her.

"I know you don't want to listen to me." Punk nodded, "And I can understand why."

"Then leave." AJ said as Punk sighed.

"I just… I want you to know how sorry I am." Punk said, "Really. I wish there was something I could do to make it better. To take it all back."

"You can't take it back." AJ said, "There's nothing you can do."

"I never meant to hurt you, April." Punk shook his head as AJ looked across at him, "You were all I had. I loved you. I still… I still love you." He nodded as AJ sighed, "All that shit that happened, it's in the past… and you always deserved better than that." He said, "I want to be better. You make me want to be better."

"Be better for yourself. Not for me." AJ shrugged.

"I am. I'm trying." Punk said, "Prison opened my eyes to a lot. My attitude was horrible back then. I was being selfish and I was stupid." He said, "I just… I need you to know how sorry I am for everything." He said as AJ looked at him.

She knew he was sorry. It was very clear to see. But that didn't change everything that happened for her. It didn't change the fact that she had been here, on her own, for a year.

"What do you expect?" AJ said, "For you to say sorry and me to just forget it all happened?" She asked.

"No, of course not." Punk said, "I just… I just need you to know how sorry I am, how angry I am with myself for throwing away the best thing I ever had." He said as AJ looked down, "And I wanna… I wanna be there for my daughter."

"Do you?" AJ questioned, "Do you actually care?" She wondered.

"Of course I care. I want to be here for her. I want to be here for you. We could… We could be a family."

"I think we're a little past that now." AJ nodded.

"I know you think I'd be a terrible father." Punk said, "And I don't blame you, I guess. But… you gotta give me a chance."

"I told you I was pregnant and you slept with someone else." She said, "You don't care."

"That's not true." Punk said, "We had a huge argument that night. We broke up. I was… I was upset and I was confused-"

"Not too confused to stick your dick in someone else." AJ spat as Punk sighed.

"Things were messy back then. We fell apart. I fell apart." He admitted, "I was stupid to push you away because you were… you were the only person who stood by me."

"Yeah, I was." AJ nodded.

"I just… I want to see my daughter. Just give me that chance. I… I got a job now so I can, I can start paying for things for her, I can give you money-"

"I don't want your money." AJ spat as Punk looked at her. He knew she was too proud and too strong to admit she needed help, that was just who she was.

"It can be for things for Thea. New clothes or… formula, diapers, whatever she needs." Punk nodded, "Please. I'm not… I'm not gonna give up on her. And I don't wanna give up on us."

"There is no us." AJ said immediately, "You blew it, Phil." She shook her head.

"Then let me make it right again." Punk said, "Come on, Ape." He sighed, walking over to her and taking her hands as she sighed, "Come on, we had something special. You're my best friend above anything else." He said as AJ looked up at him.

She hated that she still loved him dearly. He was her one. Her best friend. Her support system. Her everything. But she couldn't' forget what he did. What he threw away.

"No." AJ snapped out of it, throwing his hands away, "No, it's too hard." She said, "I can't trust that you won't get sucked back into that life again."

"I was a dumb kid-"

"It was a year ago." AJ scoffed, "It's not like we' thirty now." She said.

"I know that but being in prison taught me a lot. It taught me a lot about who I really don't wanna turn out like." He said, "I was just chasing a high with those guys, I was being stupid and I just tossed away our value. I promise you I'll never hang around with those guys again." He nodded, "I wanna be here for you and for Thea."

"I always thought of you as someone who could never hurt me." AJ nodded as Punk sighed, "And you hurt me." She nodded, "I don't want you around." She shook her head as Punk ran his hand through his hair.

"Then… then why you got those pictures up on the fridge?" Punk said, grasping onto anything he could to remind her of what they had, what magic they had, "If you hated me so bad why are these still up?"

"I just…" AJ looked over at them, "I haven't got a chance to take them down." AJ said, rolling her eyes at herself.

"Of course that's it." Punk shook his head, looking across at her as she stayed silent, "I wanna see my daughter. I wanna spend time with her. I'm entitled to see her-"

"Entitled?" AJ laughed, "You think you're entitled to anything?"

"She's my kid, April. It's not like I walked out. I was put in prison-"

"Pretty much the same as walking out. You could have prevented going to prison." AJ said.

"Yeah and I just made mistakes, ok? And I'm gonna regret them forever, don't you worry." Punk said, "I wanna see Thea. I'm not gonna walk away from her." He promised as AJ looked across at him. Deep down, she knew he wouldn't walk away from his child.

"Well you're not taking her away from me." AJ said defensively as Punk nodded, putting his hands up.

"I play by your rules. That's fair." Punk accepted, "Any time that I can have with her, I'll take." He nodded as she looked over at him.

"You can come by for an hour tomorrow." AJ shrugged.

"Or we could go out?" Punk suggested, watching her glare at him, "Staying in is fine." He nodded, "Yeah, ok. What time?"

"She's normally awake from… three to five. That's when she gets her bottle, her bath, before going to bed." AJ told him.

"So I'll be here at three." Punk nodded, looking across at her as she just nodded and looked down, "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make this right." He said, "I love you. And even though you might not love me-"

"Is that what you think?" AJ looked up at him as he shrugged with confusion, "I love you. I love you and I hate it." She spat angrily as Punk nodded slowly, "I wish I could hate you."

"I hate me." Punk assured her, "I just… I hope one day you can forgive me for everything. For being so dumb and not listening to you when you warned me about Rio." He said, "I'm gonna be better. I'm not gonna turn out like our parents."

"I wouldn't promise yourself that just yet." AJ said, "You can leave now." She said as Punk nodded.

"If that guy ever comes back-"

"I can handle myself." AJ said as he nodded. He knew she could. He'd seen it plenty of times with his own eyes. But he was always going to protect her, even if she didn't want the protection.

"Just… know I'm here." Punk said as she looked at him, "I'll see myself out." He said as AJ nodded, watching as he left the kitchen and left the apartment.

She immediately ran out after him, locking the apartment door quickly and leaning back against it, wondering how things got to be so difficult.

* * *

"_Who is the new girl?" Punk asked, leaning over the cafeteria table to his friends and his little brother, dumping his bag down as he watched the young girl in line, "She was in health class." He said, sitting down as they all turned around._

"_No clue." Dean shrugged, "She's good looking." He nodded._

"_Maryse, tell her to come sit with us." Punk nodded to his blonde French friend who scoffed._

"_You tell her." Maryse batted back._

"_I'll do your English essay for you." Punk teased, pulling her tray from her as Maryse rolled her eyes, "And you can do my French."_

"_Give back." Maryse snapped, snatching her lunch tray back with her food on it, "Which girl are you losers talking about?" She turned around._

"_Dark hair. Getting served right now." Punk said as Maryse looked over._

"_Ok, fine." Maryse waved her hand at him as Punk smiled to himself._

_Maryse watched as AJ eventually walked down the cafeteria, she threw a banana peel out onto the floor as Punk shook his head._

"_Lame." Punk scoffed whilst the others chuckled._

"_Watch and learn, ugly." Maryse shoved his face, getting up from the table, watching as AJ walked down, "Oh, look out!" Maryse called as AJ jumped a little, "You almost tripped." Maryse said, picking up the banana peel as Punk rolled his eyes._

"_Oh." AJ noticed, "Thanks." She nodded as Maryse smiled._

"_Hey, are you in my health class?" Maryse asked, "From last period?"_

"_Uh… yeah, I guess I must be." AJ nodded._

"_I'm Maryse." She smiled._

"_April." AJ nodded._

"_Come sit, there's a seat over here." Maryse nodded as AJ looked over at the group of people she was walking back to. She promised herself she wouldn't be awkward. She would find an escape. She would find people. _

"_Ok." AJ said to herself, taking a deep breath as she followed the blonde girl over to the table, taking the vacant seat._

"_What's up." Dean nodded to her as AJ smiled pleasantly._

"_Everyone this is April." Maryse pointed whilst the table looked over. _

"_You guys can call me AJ." AJ nodded as Punk looked at her._

"_I like April." Punk nodded as AJ looked at him, watching as he smiled her way. She could tell they weren't the popular kids, they all stood out in their own ways, especially him. He had the most amazing eyes, the most… enticing smirk that made her stomach feel light._

"_What's your name?" AJ smiled._

"_Phil." Punk nodded, taking a sip of his drink as she smiled and nodded._

"_Well hey." AJ gave him a smile, different from the smile she gave the rest of them. _


	6. Guard Up

**Guard Up**

* * *

"She's letting me see Thea." Punk nodded, pacing up and down in the living room whilst Dean sat on the couch, "Tomorrow at three." Punk said.

"How the hell did you convince her?" Dean shook his head.

"I don't think I've convinced her of anything." Punk said, "I just… I told her I'm not walking away from my kid. If she can't cooperate with me then… then I gotta focus everything onto my daughter." He said.

He never thought he'd be twenty one with a kid. He always thought that stuff would come later on in life. When he was ready to handle that sort of responsibility, but that didn't change his approach to it. He was going to be there for his kid.

"Well did you see her?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, only for like a minute. Man, she's so beautiful. She's like April. Really like April." Punk said as Dean tried to keep up with him, "She's got a lot of hair, it's all fuzzy… and she had this little baby grow on and it had little clouds and sheep on it." He nodded as Dean smiled.

"You nervous?" Dean asked him.

"Of course I'm nervous. What do I know about babies?" Punk sighed to himself, "I mean she's only giving me an hour with her but… I'll take it. I'll take any time I get." He nodded.

"Did you guys talk about… you two?" Dean asked.

"I tried but… she's just so hurt." Punk shook his head, sitting down on the couch, "And that's my fault. I hurt her."

"Maybe when she sees how serious you are about starting over, she might feel differently." Dean said.

"It's never gonna change what I did." Punk said, "I gotta gain her trust again." He nodded, "And you're right, she's gotta get out of that apartment." He nodded to himself.

"Yeah, place is falling apart." Dean nodded, "And she never leaves it." He shook his head, "She's gonna end up ill. Like her mom." He said, "Obviously I wouldn't say that to her face." He gulped, "She'd slap my head off."

"Yeah, she would." Punk said, "I just can't imagine… not having her in my life. I want her back. Like how we used to be."

"Yeah, you guys were pretty inseparable." Dean nodded. He knew what kind of relationship his brother had with AJ. It was special, personal and very deep. But all of those feelings just made it worse now that things had come crumbling down.

"I just… I wish I could take it all back." Punk shook his head.

"Dude, you can't keep saying that. The fact is, you can't take it back." Dean said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up, "You can't take it back, so you gotta work on things now, in this moment." He said as Punk nodded, "She's still your April, deep down. She's just got that guard back up. At least you're breaking through a little."

"I'm not breaking through at all. The woman looks like she wants to murder me." Punk shook his head.

"She's protecting herself. Look how she's living. She's looking out for herself because you… you proved to her that she can only really depend on herself. It's harsh but it's true. She depended on you and look what happened."

"Yeah, I know." Punk sighed.

"You gotta make her love you again." Dean nodded, "And you're pretty hard to love." He shrugged.

"Yeah, thanks Dean." Punk rolled his eyes, "She actually said she still loves me." Punk said, "So… there's that."

"Yeah, but you gotta make her want to love you. There's a difference." Dean nodded, "Look at us… we all don't got much. Shabby apartments, no family, not a lot of money…" He said, "But we had our friends. We had each other." He nodded, "Gotta get that back." He nodded, "I won't have my niece growing up not knowing how amazing her uncle is." He scoffed as Punk rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because that's at the top of my worries right now." Punk nodded.

"It should be." Dean said.

"I just want her to know I'm here for her." Punk said, "And I'm not giving up on us."

"She probably knows that." Dean nodded, "Take it one step at a time. It's a positive that she's letting you come see Thea. Even if it is just for an hour." He said as Punk nodded, "Use your time well. Show her that you're still the guy she fell in love with."

"Yeah." Punk nodded, feeling more positive, "Shit, I'm gonna… I'm gonna meet my daughter." He gulped nervously, leaning back on the couch and placing his hand on his forehead.

* * *

The next day, Punk arrived at AJ's apartment right on time. AJ opened up the door, looking across at him standing. He hadn't changed one bit. He was still that scruffy, dirty Punk kid she fell so madly in love with. His long blonde hair was tied back under his cap, and he still wore the same clothes she remember him wearing when they dated. Clothes she remembered wearing herself in bed with him.

"Come in." AJ shook her head after being in a small daze as he nodded, walking into the apartment as she closed the door behind him, "Through to the living room." AJ directed as Punk nodded.

He let her walk in first, following behind as he could see Thea was lying on a little mat on the floor with little toy animals hanging over her, attracting her little eyes. He was genuinely in awe that this little person was his.

"I… I bought her something." Punk turned to AJ, handing her the gift bag as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"You didn't have to." AJ shook her head.

"I want to." Punk said as AJ took the bag from him, looking inside and pulling out the onesies with skulls on them. She didn't let him see the smile on her face, sitting the bag over and folding her arms.

"Thank you." She nodded calmly.

"Not for you." Punk said childishly as she nodded "So she's like… she's just chilling out over there?" He nodded nervously as AJ looked at him. She could sense he was nervous. She knew it was because he cared.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, walking over to the mat.

Punk watched her pick Thea up into her arms softly, walking over to him.

"Uh… w-what are you doing?" He asked nervously.

"She's not gonna attack you." AJ said, "Hold your arms out." She said as Punk held his arms out straight as she scoffed, "Like this." She said, "Like you would hold a baby."

"I've never held a baby." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Well now you're gonna." She said as Punk held his arms out, looking at the way her arms were and copying them, watching as AJ passed Thea over to him.

He couldn't really put into words how it felt holding his daughter. He didn't normally get speechless but he was definitely speechless. He never thought anything this small could mean so much.

AJ stepped back a little, watching as Punk stayed still with her in his arms. It was a sight she'd secretly longed to see since the minute she gave birth. After spending so much time with this man. Going from teens to adults, making mistakes, making memories, falling in love, all of it… nothing changed the fact he was the father of her baby, and nothing ever would.

"She's quiet." Punk smiled to himself, looking down at Thea as the baby girl looked up in. She was so peaceful in his arms, like she was enjoying being there.

"She's a good baby." AJ nodded, folding her arms and watching as Punk sat down on the couch with her in his arms.

"I'm just… I'm gonna get a drink." AJ said, but he wasn't listening, he was so distracted.

She backed up out of the living room, pausing and turning around as she watched him holding Thea. She'd made all these promises to not let him back into her life when he returned from prison, but she underestimated that sort of control she would need for that. She never wanted to deprive her daughter of all the good qualities he had, qualities that she knew would make him an amazing father.

"You look just like your mommy." Punk whispered, looking down at Thea, looking into her brown eyes. She was an adorable little bundle. Squishy little cheeks, the cutest little button nose and the fuzziest messy hair. She was perfect in every sense of the word, and he was taken back by the overwhelming feelings he had right now.

AJ returned back to the living room, seeing him sitting in the same position whilst Thea was smiling at him. She did have to admit, their daughter did enjoy charming people.

"She's… she's amazing." Punk shook his head in awe as AJ looked over at him, sitting down on the couch, "Is…. Is Thea short for something or is that just her name?" He asked her.

"That's just her name." AJ nodded, "Thea Mendez." She said as Punk nodded, "I thought it was a sweet name."

"It is." Punk said, "I love it." He nodded to her, "How big was she when she was born? And… And when is her birthday?" Punk asked, desperate to know.

"She was seven pounds exactly." AJ nodded, "And her birthday is October 16th." She smiled.

"Hey… that's ten days before mine." He pointed out excitedly as AJ nodded, "So we have the same birthday month, little one." He looked down at Thea, "Did you tell your parents?" He asked her as she shook her head.

"No. They left for Puerto Rico when I was just a few months pregnant." AJ said.

"They didn't tell you they were leaving?" Punk asked her.

"My brother came by to tell me." AJ nodded, "But he made it very clear that my mom and dad didn't want me coming with them." She said, "Which is only fair. I did spend the past four years running around with you." She shrugged, "They probably got into some trouble themselves and split."

"Sounds like your family." Punk nodded.

"Listen, I… I don't want you think because I'm letting you see Thea that… that my feelings about you are gonna change." She said, "You can be the best father in the world to her, but that doesn't change what you did to me."

"I get that." Punk assured her, "I just wanna be here for my daughter, and I appreciate you gaving me that chance." He nodded sincerely.

He wasn't trying to suck up to her. Or use his daughter to impress her. He knew she wasn't going to be won over so easily.

"And I'm only going to say this once." She made clear, looking across at him as he saw the chilling look on her face, "If you get involved with Rio again and you bring that sort of lifestyle into her life… I promise you, you will never see her again." AJ said as Punk looked across at her.

He could tell just by that statement, that she really did not trust him at all. That hurt the most.

"I would never put her in danger." Punk said.

"You said the same thing to me." AJ said, "You don't have to promise me, because I… I don't believe your promises. I'm just warning you. If you start any of that shit again, we're gone." She said as Punk nodded.

She had every right to be harsh after everything that happened.

"I won't ever put her in danger. Or you." Punk said, "You can believe me or not. But… I won't." He said as AJ nodded.

"I'm gonna make her bottle up." AJ stood up, "You can feed her." She said as Punk nodded, watching as she walked away out of the living room.

He began playing with Thea's hand, watching her look up at him. It was the warmest feeling he'd ever felt. He couldn't ignore the fact that his ex had put up an incredibly huge wall. One he wasn't sure he could even knock down.


	7. Life Before

**Life Before**

* * *

"_Wake up." AJ whispered softly, kissing up Punk's body as she straddled over him, kissing her way up his throat to his lips as he smiled against the kiss, "Wake up." She mouthed against his lips, grabbing his hands and putting them above his head as he kissed her back passionately, turning them around where she was lying on her back. _

"_I'm awake." Punk whispered in her ear, kissing down her neck, pushing her t-shirt up over her breasts which he took into his mouth, cupping them with his hands and using his mouth back and forth._

_AJ smirked at the feeling and moaned softly, feeling him kiss down her stomach and every inch of her body that he could find. She really couldn't imagine anyone else touching her in her lifetime like this. She felt like it would be a sin. Like it would be mistreatment to herself. There was no one else but him._

_He kissed back up her body, trailing his finger down her bottom lip, watching her as she took his finger into her mouth as he laughed, watching her suck on it, keeping those innocent eyes on his as he smirked._

_He felt her push them back over to where she was on top, straddling his hips and looking down at him._

"_I wanna do something fun." She smiled between kissing him._

"_We should probably get out of here." Punk chuckled._

"_Whose place even is this?" AJ asked, getting off the bed and wandering over to the window as Punk put his hands behind his head, watching her in nothing but his t-shirt, "What time is it?" She questioned as Punk looked at the clock beside him on the night stand._

"_6am." Punk said as she ran back over into the bed with him, "Maybe we got a little time…" He looked down at her as she smirked and nodded desperately._

_She took his t-shirt from her body and rolled them back over to where she was on top, stroking herself and him at the same time as Punk watched eagerly._

_She then moved forward, guiding his length inside her and sinking down on him, both of them moaning as AJ smirked, leaning forward and taking his lips against hers._

"_Fuck." She moaned, her lips falling down his face as she gasped, "So big." She whispered, "So good." She tugged on his ear lobe with her teeth as Punk smiled, thrusting up into her as she moaned out._

"_Fuck." Punk gasped, watching her as she leaned back, moving her hips up and down on him, taking control as she leaned her head back and bounced up and down on him._

_Suddenly the bedroom door opened up as AJ squealed with fright. Punk immediately pulled her down, pushing her behind him as he sat up._

"_We gotta split." Dean told them, "Meet me outside." He said as Punk nodded._

"_Close the door." Punk told him as Dean closed the door back over._

_AJ chuckled to herself, turning to him as he shook his head, running his hand through his hair, "One day I'm gonna just keep going." AJ whispered, kissing his neck as Punk chuckled._

"_We gotta split." He told her as she nodded. _

_They cleaned up in the bathroom, taking advantage of the bathroom, and put their clothes back on, leaving the bedroom where they saw some people asleep in the hallway._

"_Is this Maryse's boyfriends place?" AJ figured, "She was the one who gave me the call last night."_

"_Probably." Punk nodded, stepping over the empty glass bottles of booze and heading for the door, opening it up and leaving, meeting Dean outside who was waiting having a cigarette._

"_Ok, let's go." Dean nodded to them._

"_We could have gotten another few hours out of that place." Punk shook his head, "Why you getting spooked?" He questioned._

"_I'm not. That place was jackpot city for cops." Dean said, "We had to split." He said as Punk nodded, figuring he was right._

"_We got there late." AJ said, "Maryse called me. We got in and we just crashed in the bedroom."_

"_Yeah, it's her boyfriend's place. Some crackhead drug dealer." Dean nodded._

"_Yeah, I figured from the bathroom." Punk said, "Lot of bands." He nodded._

"_I'm so hungry." AJ put her hands on her hips as Punk looked around._

"_Let's go to the store." Punk pointed across the road._

"_Get me a soda." Dean called, watching them walk across the road and head into the store._

_AJ walked into the store first, looking over at the store keeper, practically asleep at the counter. Punk followed behind her, looking over and checking around for cameras. _

"_I love you." He smiled, wrapping his arms around her from behind, staying close to the shelves as AJ smiled, reaching out for food and putting it up her t-shirt as Punk kept his eyes on the camera angles._

"_I love you too." AJ smirked, grabbing all she could as Punk covered her, eventually leaving the store quickly, keeping calm as they walked down the street, meeting Dean at the corner and escaping down a different street._

"_Soda." Punk passed the soda to his brother whilst AJ took the rest of the food from under her shirt. They had no idea what it felt like to have money. This was all they knew._

"_We gonna go home and see if mom is still there? Maybe she's left again." Dean said._

"_Yeah, it's worth trying I guess." Punk said, "You heard from your brother?" He turned to AJ who shook her head._

"_I used a girl's phone last night to call him but there was no answer." AJ shrugged._

* * *

"_She still here?" AJ asked, walking into their house with Punk and Dean who walked on ahead._

"_I don't think so." Punk realised, walking upstairs and checking the bedrooms, walking into his mother's bedroom and pausing as he saw her in bed with some guy. He looked on at the money on the bedside table and shook his head, backing out of the room and heading back downstairs where AJ and Dean were sitting on the outside step._

"_Clear?" Dean asked._

"_No, she's up there." Punk nodded, walking through to the kitchen._

"_She alone?" Dean asked, getting up and following him through to the kitchen whilst AJ stayed sat on the step._

"_No, of course she's not alone." Punk said, opening up their empty fridge and groaning to himself, "Money on the night stand again." He looked at Dean who raised his eyebrows._

"_She didn't stay off it long, did she?" Dean shook his head._

"_Grab some clothes in a bag." Punk advised._

"_Got it." Dean nodded, leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs as Punk made his way back outside where AJ was sitting on the steps, eating candy and watching the sun coming up._

"_Hey." Punk said, sitting down next to her as she smiled._

"_Hey." She nudged him, "She up there with some guy?" She figured as Punk nodded._

"_Yeah, we're gonna grab some clothes and get out." Punk nodded, "Find more parties or… something. Maybe your brother could talk to Rio, see if he's got anything going."_

"_You know, I think he's nice and all but… I think he's trouble." AJ nodded, "I think we should start staying clear of him."_

"_He's alright." Punk shrugged calmly._

"_You're gonna get in trouble." AJ nodded to him, "It'd be good if we could just have a place of her own." She said, "I'm fed up of revolving our life around our parents habits." She said as Punk nodded. _

"_It'd be nice." Punk agreed, "We could get money."_

"_Not from Rio." AJ rolled her eyes, "It worries me how much he likes you." She admitted. _

"_We just get along." Punk shrugged, "You don't gotta worry." He nudged her as she smiled and nodded._

"_I know that." AJ said, "I don't care what happens or where we are… as long as I'm with you." She smirked as he looked at her, leaning over and kissing her. She'd grew up with nothing all her life, to the point where she had such low expectations of everyone and everything. It was only him that mattered to her. She didn't care where they ended up. She was in the mindset of no regret, no fear. As long as she was with him, she had everything._

"_Hey, Seth called." Dean interrupted them kissing, throwing Punk his bag and putting his own on, "We can crash at his place just now, his folks are gone. Then apparently he's headed to a house in Englewood."_

"_Oh God, we're gonna die." AJ rolled her eyes, standing up from the steps as Punk closed the door to their house over._

"_Nah, we'll be fine. Seth knows the guys." Dean patted her on the back._

_They were so used to crashing in different people's houses. Whether it was friends or strangers. It was something they were just used to. It was life to them. Having each other sure made it all more tolerable. They always tried to make the best of a bad time._

"_Oh, is someone scared?" Punk teased as she shoved him._

"_Do you two not remember what happened the last time we went into that neighbourhood?" AJ asked._

"_Yes, I do. Because you always bring it up." Dean tutted._

"_Well I'd like to try our best not to get arrested this time. Please." AJ scoffed as Punk laughed, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head._

"_We'll be good." Punk nodded as she smiled up at him, "We need some cash." Punk nodded to her as AJ looked at him._

"_Dean, tell Phil we should stop seeing Rio." AJ said._

"_We do need cash." Dean hummed, walking on ahead as AJ rolled her eyes._

"_Come on, he helps us out. It'll be a quick job." He said as AJ sighed._

"_Well I want no part of it this time." AJ said._

"_Suit yourself." Punk said, "First thing we're doing with the cash is getting a motel." He smiled as AJ chuckled, grabbing his ass from behind as Dean rolled his eyes._

"_Hurry up and get me to Seth's." Dean shook his head to himself as AJ laughed, running and jumping on his back, messing with his hair as Dean laughed._

"_I'll call Rio when we get there." Punk told them, watching them both mess around, smiling to himself. There was an element of carelessness to their lives, having each other was enough. Each other was all they cared about._


	8. Hardship

**Hardship**

* * *

"She was like… she's just this little person, man." Punk said, pacing up and down in the living room in the apartment, "And she smiles, like… she was smiling right at me." He nodded as Dean smiled, "And I got to feed her. She's a greedy little thing, I took the bottle from her cause she spilled some and she was like all grumpy." He said with fascination as Dean smiled.

Since the second he stepped foot in the door, he hadn't stopped talking about Thea. It was great to see his brother this happy about something. He hadn't saw that from him in a long time.

"So you like her?" Dean teased as Punk chuckled.

"She's literally amazing." Punk shook his head with amazement.

"You talk to April?" Dean asked.

"A little." Punk said, "She basically told me that if I ever start shit back up with Rio again then I'm… she'll never let me see Thea again." He said as Dean nodded.

"You knew that already." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"She also said that just because she's letting me see Thea doesn't mean me and her are gonna… work things out." Punk shrugged, "She's tough." He admitted.

"Well it's April. What do you expect?" Dean said, "You know how cold she can get."

"Yeah, I just… I've never been on the other side of it." He admitted as Dean nodded, "I don't know what I expected. I can't possibly think that things are gonna go back to how they were overnight. I just… I just miss how we used to be."

"I do too." Dean nodded, "But we've all moved on."

"I don't wanna move on from her." Punk sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Dean said, "But hey, take it as a positive that you're getting to see Thea. That's gonna help AJ see that you're being serious about all of this and that you're… you're really trying."

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "I just worry that it's never gonna be the same again, with us." Punk shook his head as Dean nodded, "She wasn't just my girlfriend, she was my best friend. I mean I know I'm never finding what I had with her, with anyone else." He shook his head.

"Try not think about that too much." Dean said, "I would just focus on Thea right now. Do what you can with her, take all that time you're getting and don't waste it." He nodded, "And give April some space."

"I just miss her." He shook his head.

"I do too." Dean nodded, "You're up at 7 with me tomorrow. Work." Dean told him as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, sure." Punk nodded, "My probation officer has stepped off my neck a little now he knows I've got a job. Probably didn't expect it." He shook his head.

"It'll feel good when you get your first pay cheque." Dean promised.

"Legit money, huh?" Punk nodded.

"Yeah, legit money." Dean laughed.

"You know I'm worried about April in that apartment." Punk admitted.

"I know it's a shithole." Dean shook his head.

"When we got it, it was like the best thing on earth." Punk remembered.

"Yeah, because it meant you could have sex in the same place every night." Dean nodded as Punk shrugged.

"Well yeah but not just that." Punk said, "It was ours. We had an actual home that was ours and we didn't have to worry about our parents, and what they were up to." He said, "I thought the place was amazing."

"Hey, back then… any roof was amazing." Dean nodded, "Because if there was no roof, it was on the streets." He said as Punk nodded, "But I agree, the place is falling apart around her." Dean said.

"She could come stay here." Punk thought to himself as Dean looked at him, "There's room, and this is a nice apartment. You'd have to stop smoking in it for the baby but-"

"Phil, she's not gonna move here. Woman can't stand a one minute conversation with you." Dean scoffed, "Or me for that matter. She's not going anywhere." He said as Punk sighed to himself, "I know it's hard getting used to being separate, but… well you're gonna have to." Dean nodded, "You guys aren't kids anymore. Can't run around like you used to. There's a baby now. It's time to just stay in one place and focus on that."

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, "I'm seeing Thea tomorrow night." He said as Dean nodded, "Told April I'd come by after work."

"Good." Dean nodded, "Don't let her down."

* * *

"_Holy shit." AJ dumped her bag down as she walked into the motel, looking over at Punk sitting on the bed counting the money out in front of him, "Holy shit." She smiled excitedly, tackling him over the bed as he laughed._

"_Where the hell did you go?" Punk asked her._

"_I went for a walk. I got anxious that you weren't back yet." She admitted, taking her hoodie off and looking at all the money in front of them, "Oh my God." She smiled, "You didn't murder or hurt anyone for this, right?"_

"_Right." Punk nodded as she smiled._

"_Where is Dean?" AJ asked._

"_He's in the next room." Punk said, "With his own cash."_

"_You mean this is all ours?" AJ asked him as Punk nodded, "Oh my God." She raised her eyebrows. To the average person, it really wasn't that much money, but for them, it was so much._

"_I told you Rio would help us out." Punk smirked._

"_What'd you have to do?" AJ turned to him._

"_Just move some things around." Punk nodded as AJ looked at him, "No big deal."_

"_You could get caught." AJ told him as Punk shook his head._

"_Nah, we're all good." Punk smiled, "We can stay here for a couple nights. Actually eat some proper food." He nodded as she smiled. The thought of not having to search for places to crash was so beautiful._

"_Imagine having this all the time." AJ thought to herself, hugging her knees as Punk turned to her._

"_We could." Punk said as AJ looked at him._

"_You mean work for Rio all the time?" AJ asked him as Punk nodded, "Is that what you'd want?"_

"_It's a sweet deal." Punk shrugged._

"_You could get caught at any time. And then you go to prison." AJ said, "I'm not ok with that." She said truthfully._

"_We could get our own place." Punk said, "Imagine. Our own place." He said as AJ looked at him. It was such a dream, yet it felt so impossible._

"_Look, I… I introduced you to Rio in case of emergencies, that we ran into trouble and needed money." AJ said, "But working for him full-time… you won't get out of it. Look at my family."_

"_Your family is insane, though." Punk shook his head._

"_Yeah, and I don't wanna end up like that." AJ said, "I'm serious right now, Phil." She nodded to him as Punk looked across at her._

"_Nothing bad is gonna happen." Punk shook his head, "Hey, do you trust me?" He tilted her head around by her chin as she looked at him._

"_You're the only person I trust." AJ nodded, "Maybe Dean too but he does steal a lot of my food."_

"_You're one to talk about stealing." Punk smirked a little as AJ smiled, "We're gonna be fine. Just trust me." He nodded as AJ looked at him. She did trust him. He kept her safe, he kept her sane and happy in this difficult life. _

"_I do trust you." She whispered, cupping his cheek softly as Punk smiled, leaning her down on the bed and kissing her passionately as she pulled his t-shirt up over his head, running her hands up his back._

_She knew she wasn't going to find a love like this ever again. She was connected to him on ways she didn't think was imaginable. He knew what she was thinking without her speaking and vice versa. It wasn't extraordinary bond._

_She felt his hand go in her panties, stroking her clit and kissing her neck as she rolled her head back and moaned._

"_You're so wet for me." Punk smirked, nudging her neck as she moaned._

_She pushed her jeans down whilst undoing his as he smiled at her eagerness, "I want you inside me." AJ moaned._

"_Turn around." Punk said, pushing his jeans and boxers down as AJ turned around on her hands and knees, taking hold of the head board as he pushed himself into her._

"_Oh, fuck." AJ moaned, "Fuck, yes… give it to me." AJ moaned, feeling him pound into her from behind._

_He leaned over and kissed her neck, holding her around the throat as she smiled, feeling him pound in and out of her, already approaching her first orgasm._

"_Yeah, take it." Punk whispered in her ear as she bit her lip. No one knew her body like he did. She wasn't going to let anyone know her body like she let him. He knew how to make her feel good, to combine her weakness with her power. To overwhelm her with these feelings. In these moments, she didn't care where they ended up or what happened to them. In these moments she just wanted him like this forever._

* * *

AJ was fast asleep later on. She normally fell asleep early since she was awake early with Thea. Getting used to being in the apartment alone was extremely difficult. Once Punk had gone to prison, she could barely sleep on her own. She heard every noise, every car that went by. It got to the point where the only reason she fell asleep was because of exhaustion.

She was asleep in her bed whilst Thea was fast asleep in the crib at the bottom of the room, but she was suddenly woken up by loud banging at the apartment door.

She shot up in bed, getting out and listening to the loud banging.

"Open up! I'm here for my money!" The man exclaimed as AJ groaned, realising it was the man who had come to fix her water earlier in the week.

She stayed quiet, slowly creeping out of the bedroom and looking down the hallway.

"Open up, bitch!" He yelled as AJ ran her hand through her hair.

She crept back into the bedroom and closed the door over, leaning against it and closing her eyes, looking over at Thea in her crib who managed to stay asleep through all the yelling.

She stood hoping the man would go away, keeping her eyes closed and leaning against the door. She didn't have money to give him, she barely had money for herself, and she knew what he would look for as an alternative like before, so she stayed quiet and just bargained on him leaving.

The shouting went on for another five minutes until she finally heard it go quiet, taking a deep breath and walking out of the bedroom just as she heard a loud smash from the living room.

She rushed down the hall and into the living room, placing her hands in her hair as she saw her now smashed in window, glass everywhere with curtains blowing around. It was enough to make her cry.


	9. Hard To Admit

**Hard To Admit**

* * *

"What the fuck happened here?" Punk asked, walking into the living room and noticing the window was boarded up, turning around to AJ who was holding Thea.

"Oh, n-nothing. Just… stupid kids." AJ nodded as Punk shook his head.

"Someone did this?" Punk asked her, "Someone smashed your window in?"

"It was just kids. Someone will come fix it." AJ shrugged, trying to act calm around him.

"Yeah and what are they gonna want in exchange? The same as the water guy?" Punk questioned as AJ looked at him.

"It's really none of your business." AJ nodded.

"No, I tell you what… I'll get some of the guys down to fix it, from the construction site." Punk nodded to her.

"Phil-"

"No, that way you know it's gonna be fixed properly and it'll be free, you don't gotta worry about money." He nodded to her as AJ looked at him. She couldn't not take him up on that offer. She was desperate and it was taking a huge weight off her shoulders.

"Thank you." She said quietly as Punk nodded.

"I'll get them to come round tomorrow." He told her as AJ nodded, "Will you be in?"

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Here, you take her." She said, passing Thea over to Punk.

"Hi." Punk smiled, "Hi, you." He stroked her cheek, walking over to the couch and taking a seat as AJ watched him. He was so good with Thea. So naturally good. She could tell by the way he held her, the way he looked at her, he had the hang of this and yet… she still felt like she was struggling as a new mom.

"You can stay for her bath if you like." AJ nodded as Punk looked up.

"Yeah?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded.

"She loves the bath." AJ smiled as Punk nodded, looking down at Thea.

"You love the bath, huh?" He asked, playing with her feet, pretending he was eating them, playing with her and getting her to smile as AJ watched him, "So when did his happen?" Punk asked, looking up at the boarded window.

"Just last night." AJ said, "I was in bed." She nodded, "I called the guy across the landing and he came in and boarded it up for me." She said as Punk nodded, looking down at Thea.

"Yeah, this place isn't how I really remembered it." Punk said.

"I had to sell a lot of our stuff to get things for Thea." AJ said, "All our stuff was bought with drug money anyway so…" She shrugged coldly as Punk looked over at her.

"Not all of it." Punk reminded her, "I did have a job-"

"That you got fired from." AJ nodded, "Yeah, I remember."

"So what did you sell?" Punk asked.

"Most things in here." AJ said, "The TV, the unit that used to sit over there, the coffee table… sold a lot of things in the kitchen too." She nodded, "Because I didn't know this… but babies? Quite expensive." She nodded, "Especially when you're alone."

"I hope you know that… had I not gone to prison, I would have been here, working it out with you, I would have got my shit together and I would have been here-"

Would have, should have." AJ nodded, "But I think you needed to go to prison to snap out of this. You weren't even listening to me anymore." She shrugged, "I told you from the beginning you would get caught and you did." She said.

"Now isn't the time to say I told you so. Trust me. I know what I did." Punk said as AJ nodded, looking over Thea who was playing with Punk's hand, "How did your pregnancy go? Were you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, it was fine." AJ nodded. She could be civil to him. At first she thought she couldn't even be in the same room as him, but watching her with Thea was a therapy she didn't know she needed, "Walking up all those stairs when you're nine months pregnant is not fun, though." She said, "Neither was giving birth on my own." She shrugged, "But what are you gonna do?" She shrugged.

"I'm sorry." He nodded as she looked across at him.

"I'm gonna go get her bath ready." AJ said, leaving the living room whilst Punk sat back with Thea.

* * *

"_Mmm… I'm gonna cum." AJ moaned, laying on her back in the motel bed, wrapping her arms around Punk's neck as he thrust into her whilst kissing her neck between whispering things in her ear which made her moan even louder._

"_Tell me you want it." Punk whispered, thrusting into her whilst kissing her neck and throat as she rolled her head back._

"_I want it." AJ moaned, clutching his shoulders and digging her nails into his skin as he smiled, "I want it." She begged, taking his hand and wrapping it around her throat._

"_You're such a good girl." He smirked, kissing her on the mouth whilst keeping his hand around her neck as she kissed back._

"_Take it." AJ moaned softly, "It's yours. It's all yours." She said, reaching her hand down and stroking herself as Punk watched._

_He took her legs and put them over his shoulders as she smirked. He folded her up, leaning forward and thrusting into her as her mouth opened, moans trying to escape but her breath not allowing it._

"_Fuck." AJ moaned loudly, "Fuck, that's deep." Her eyes widened every time he thrust inside her, "Fuck, you're gonna make me cum." She gripped his arms as he smirked and looked down at her._

_She eventually found her release, her entire body pulsing with pleasure, "S-Slow… slow down." She moaned, twitching a little as he slowed down as she asked, thrusting slowly back and forth as he leaned down, capturing her lips with his as she kissed back._

_Once she found herself again after getting lost in the pleasure, he stood up, pulling her by the hand off the bed as she smiled, immediately crouching to her knees and taking him into her mouth. She let him use her mouth, thrusting in and out as he gripped her hair. She liked the feeling of giving herself to him. It turned her on and she gained her own pleasure from it._

"_Fuck, I'm gonna cum." Punk moaned, pulling out of her mouth as she used her hand on him, stroking him up and down as he eventually came over her face, groaning quietly with every drop as she smiled up at him, cupping her breasts whilst she looked up at him, "Fuck." Punk laughed, "You got a little something on your face." He pointed as she smirked, lying down on the floor as he lay back down on the bed. _

_She eventually stood up and wandered through to the bathroom to clean herself up, emerging back into the room naked and making her way over to the bed. She grabbed a cigarette from the box Dean had gotten and lit one up. _

"_I thought you were gonna stop that." He whispered as she lay down against him._

"_I will." AJ promised, "One every now and then doesn't hurt." She said as he nodded, "It's a wonder how you don't cave into drugs or alcohol."_

"_I don't need it." Punk said._

"_Neither do I." AJ shrugged. Neither of them had intoxicated themselves or been on drugs before. It was rare, especially with how they lived. But they were able to resist. Their drug was each other for sure. They needed that, "This is just a pick me up." AJ assured him, puffing on the cigarette as Punk smiled._

"_You're your own person. You do what you like." Punk whispered as she smiled. _

"_I know." AJ nodded as he turned to her. She took his hand, putting it between her legs as he smiled._

_He parted her folds, stroking her clit as AJ rolled her eyes, taking a drag of the cigarette and closing her eyes as she exhaled._

_He kissed down her body, positioning his face between her legs as he began using his tongue on her, eating her like she was his last meal as she moaned out, looking down at him with his mouth buried into her._

"_Fuck, baby." AJ moaned, taking another drag and rolling her head back, tapping the cigarette over the ash tray on the side table where she saw their very little money running out._

* * *

"Damn, she really likes the bath, huh?" Punk laughed, standing in the bedroom with AJ, having just gotten Thea out from the bath. She was crying as soon as he lifted her from the tub, but AJ assured him she did it every time the bath was over.

"It's her favourite thing." AJ nodded, watching as Punk tried to put her diaper on, noticing he was struggling. The only reason he seemed to be struggling, was because he was handling her like she was glass, like he was afraid she would break.

"Is this on the right way?" Punk wondered.

"Yeah, just seal it over." AJ pointed as Punk nodded.

He appreciated her not judging him for not having a clue what he was doing. She was extremely helpful when he was bathing her, telling him how to hold Thea and what soaps to use for her skin. She wasn't patronising him, she was just helping him out and he appreciated that.

"And now what? Just the onesie?" He asked.

"Yeah." AJ nodded. She hated feeling like she was supervising him, but she just wanted to make sure he wasn't stuck, "She is a wriggler so these can be tough." She nodded.

"Ok, just stay still for me." Punk nodded to Thea as AJ smiled a little.

She watched as her got her legs into the onesie, and then struggled a little with her arms. But she knew he was a determined person. He didn't give up and he definitely didn't ask her for help. He eventually got her arms into the onesie and smiled with triumph as he began doing the buttons.

"There." Punk smiled, "That wasn't so hard." He said, taking her hands, "That wasn't so hard, huh?" He said in a funny voice, leaning down and kissing her noise as AJ watched, "That's on right… isn't it?" Punk looked at the onesie.

"Yeah, that's it." AJ nodded to him, "You can… you can stay and put her to bed. She has another bottle and then she goes down." She said as Punk turned to her.

He'd already been over at the apartment for quite some time, he was surprised he was getting an invite to stay longer.

"You sure?" Punk asked her as AJ nodded.

"Well… if you want to." AJ said.

"Yeah, of course I do." Punk nodded.

"I normally feed her in here and then put her down." AJ said, "So I'll go make the bottle and bring it in." She told him as Punk nodded.

"Ok, sure." He said, watching her walk away as he took a seat on the bed, lifting Thea up into his arms, "Thanks for taking it easy on me, kid." He whispered, looking down at her. She was the most beautiful little thing in the whole world. And she was so content and happy, "I'm sorry I wasn't here from the get go." He nodded, "I should have been." He said, taking her hand in his, "Daddy's really sorry. He made a lot of mistakes. A lot." He said, "But he's gonna do better, he's gonna do better for you and for mommy." He nodded, stroking her cheek lovingly, "Man, I love you." Punk shook his head with amazement.

He never thought he could love something so small and delicate, but he did. She had his heart already. He knew he'd do absolutely anything for her. Anything.

AJ eventually returned to the bedroom with a bottle, passing it over to Punk, "She likes to have her hand under your armpit." AJ said, "It's how she falls asleep." AJ told him.

"Oh… ok." Punk nodded, lifting his arm a little as Thea snuck her little hand under, causing Punk to smile, "She's a sweetheart." He shook his head as AJ nodded with a smile.

"She'll have half and then pass out." AJ nodded, "As soon as you see her eyes going, just gently take the bottle away, slowly." AJ advised, "Or she'll start screaming."

"So she's like her mom when her food gets taken away from her." Punk smiled up at AJ who half smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, maybe she is." AJ nodded, "Look, I hope you don't think I'm trying to supervise you or tell you what to do here-"

"Hey, tell me everything." Punk nodded sincerely, "I need to know. I need to know my daughter." He said, "And you know a hell of a lot more than me." He said as AJ nodded.

It didn't take long until Thea fell asleep. Punk slowly took the bottle from her and gave it to AJ. He then stood up and walked over to the crib at the bottom of AJ's bed, slowly and gently putting her down in it as he smiled.

"And she'll just sleep until morning now?" Punk asked AJ who nodded.

"Yeah, usually." AJ nodded, watching as Punk looked down at Thea, smiling to himself, "So… when should I expect your work people coming to fix the window?" AJ asked him, heading out of the room as Punk followed her.

"Tomorrow, probably after five." Punk nodded, "I'm working all day so… I probably won't get over to see Thea tomorrow." He said as AJ nodded.

"That's ok." AJ said, "Are you… are you liking the job?" She asked, attempting to have one normal conversation, attempting to pretend like nothing had happened.

"It's ok, yeah." Punk nodded, "It's good people, not bad pay, out in the fresh air all day." He nodded as AJ smiled.

"Lucky you." She nodded as he looked down at her, "You should probably get going then." She said as Punk nodded.

"Right." Punk nodded, "Well thanks again-"

"Please stop thanking me." AJ nodded.

"Well I just appreciate this. A lot." Punk said as she nodded.

"I'll see you soon." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, ok." He said, walking to the door and leaving the apartment as AJ watched the door close over.

It was so difficult to stay mad at him, but she knew it would be even more difficult to trust him again after everything that happened. She couldn't live in that danger again. She couldn't have her daughter live in that danger. She promised herself she wouldn't trust anyone but herself after everything. It just hurt to remember the love they had.


	10. Give It Time

**Give It Time**

* * *

"_Where were you all morning?" Dean asked, sitting in the motel watching the TV whilst Punk was sat on the bed using the phone. _

"_I was L hopping." AJ said, taking her backpack off as Dean stood up._

"_You do any good?" Dean wondered._

"_I've had better." AJ said, "Got a twenty. A watch. A wallet. Another twenty." She emptied her bag as Dean looked on._

"_You stole a sandwich from someone?" Dean noticed as AJ nodded._

"_It was sitting on the table in a café. I went in to use the bathroom and it was just… staring at me on the way back." AJ shrugged, opening up the sandwich, "Who is he on the phone to?" _

"_Rio." Dean said as AJ nodded, "We don't got enough to cover for another night here so we gotta find somewhere." He nodded._

"_Well here is forty dollars." AJ said, grabbing the two twenties, "And I haven't even checked this wallet yet."_

"_Phil wants to take the job." Dean nodded as AJ looked over at Punk writing down things on a piece of paper by the phone._

"_I can't be the only one getting worried about him." AJ looked at Dean._

"_He knows what he's doing." Dean shrugged, "Don't worry about him."_

"_Yeah, I'm not worried about if he knows what he's doing or not." AJ said, "I'm worrying about it taking over his life-"_

"_It's a quick way to get money." Dean shrugged, "He told me he wants to get an apartment with you." He nodded as AJ turned and looked over at Punk._

"_He did?" AJ asked._

"_Yeah." Dean said._

"_I'm afraid he's gonna get into trouble." AJ said, "I know that… stealing things can also get you into trouble." She looked at all the things she'd emptied out of her backpack, "But this is like… this is serious stuff. Drugs and stuff." AJ scoffed._

"_Yeah, he's not taking them or anything-"_

"_I know he isn't." AJ said, "But you can do serious time in prison for drug related offences." AJ said._

"_You can also do serious prison time for stealing wallets on the L." Dean said as AJ looked at him, "You were the one who introduced him to Rio-"_

"_As an emergency." AJ said, "I knew him through my brother and… I thought it'd be good for us to have an emergency back-up, which we have needed multiple times. The guy bailed us out of jail for Christ sake." AJ rolled her eyes._

"_Exactly. He's not a bad guy." Dean shrugged._

"_Yeah but how long until Phil is just one of those guys. I don't wanna live like this forever, you know." AJ said as Dean nodded._

"_I know, but… we're not talking about forever. It's just right now. One day at a time." Dean said, "Just chill out."_

"_What are you two talking about over there?" Punk asked, putting the phone down, standing up from the bed and looking over at the things AJ had brought back, "We can sell this." He saw the watch, "Two twenty's." He tossed over with their other money._

"_I figured it was enough to keep us here another night at least." AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, well it'll keep you here another night." Punk said as AJ shook her head with confusion, "Me and Dean have got a job."_

"_Tonight?" AJ asked as Punk nodded, "I can… I can come with you."_

"_No, it's easier if you just stay here." Punk nodded, "We'll be back by morning." He said, walking through to the bathroom as AJ followed him and closed the door over._

"_I thought we said no more Rio. We can do this our own." AJ said._

"_It's just so much easier." Punk nodded, "And it's quick cash. I do some odd jobs every month and we can put in for our own place." He said, "No more running around looking for places to crash." He said._

"_I want that, baby but… I want it to be our money too-"_

"_It is our money." Punk said._

"_No, it's drug money." AJ whispered. _

"_And? Money is money." Punk said, "Once we get enough we can try for jobs, even though no one wants to hire us after we spent a night in jail… why we gotta put that shit on our applications?" He scoffed._

"_I just don't want you getting in trouble, Phil." AJ shook her head._

"_We won't. It's all good." Punk said, "It's fine. We… are fine." He smiled, cupping her cheeks as she nodded._

"_Yeah… yeah, we're fine." She nodded to herself, "We're fine." She looked up at him._

"_Get yourself some food and just chill out here. We'll be back by morning." Punk said, leaning down and kissing her softly, about to pull back when she kissed him deeper, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. _

"_You be careful, Phil Brooks." She pulled back, looking up at him._

"_I'll be fine." He nodded, "I love you." He said as she smiled. That love was sometimes the only thing that kept her going. That and the adrenalin of being out in the terrifying world on their own. _

"_I love you." AJ said. It was the one thing in her life she was so absolutely sure of. _

* * *

"Brooks."

"What's up, Danny?" Punk nodded, standing on a piece of scaffolding whilst at work whilst one of the guys approached him. He was getting the hang of things pretty quickly, and he was enjoying getting to hold down a job and see his buddy's again.

"Hey, it's just to let you know we got your girl's window fixed up." Danny said as Punk nodded.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Punk said, "She's… she's not my girl." Punk shook his head.

"Oh." Danny nodded, "Oh." He thought to himself as Punk turned to him.

"And she's not gonna be yours either." Punk hummed as Danny scoffed.

"You not giving up on that ship then?" Danny folded his arms.

"I'm doing what I gotta do." Punk said, "A lot of shit went down. We got a daughter. We can't just go our separate ways."

"Yeah, I saw her. Cute as a button." Danny said as Punk smiled.

"Were you talking to April?" Punk asked curiously.

"A little, yeah." Danny nodded, "She's a lot more quiet than I ever remembered." He said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, well a lot has happened." Punk said as Danny nodded, "Thanks for helping her out. I know she appreciated it."

"That's ok." Danny patted him on the back, wandering away.

"Hey, Phil." Kofi passed Punk a piece of wood, "Saw your kid yesterday. She's fucking cute, man." He said as Punk smiled. He'd never experienced this before. It was nice.

"Thanks." Punk laughed a little, not sure if that was the appropriate response.

"Saw your other girl too." Kofi winked, "Somehow she still looks sixteen." He shook his head as Punk looked at him.

"She's not my girl." Punk mumbled as Kofi just smiled and nodded.

"Of course she's not." Kofi said, wandering away as Punk jumped down from the piece of scaffolding, making his way over to Dean who was taking his break, having a coffee and sitting on some bricks.

"Hey, why do all these goons think I'm still with April?" Punk asked.

"Why the hell are you asking me?" Dean shrugged.

"Well they know I was in prison for a year so why the hell do they think we're still together." Punk said.

"Maybe because it's you and April." Dean said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Punk questioned.

"Well everyone just knew you guys were a steady couple." Dean said, "It's not a bad thing."

"It is when I have to correct them." Punk rolled his eyes, sitting on the bricks next to him, "Do you think she's changed?"

"April?" Dean asked as Punk nodded, "No, I don't think she's changed. I think her life changed when she had Thea. She had to sacrifice a lot and… as someone who didn't have a lot to sacrifice in the first place… it's gotta be tough." Dean said, "And she doesn't talk to anyone. She's gotta be pretty lonely." He said, "I'm sure she's still the same person."

"You think I should ask her out for coffee?" Punk asked.

"Jesus Christ, coffee?" Dean turned to him, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm just thinking, it gets her out the house, she can obviously bring Thea… gives us a chance to talk." Punk shrugged.

"I think she'll blow you off but whatever." Dean said.

"I'm gonna ask her." Punk said.

* * *

"Yeah, she blew me off." Punk walked into the kitchen later that night after being at AJ's apartment.

"Told you." Dean nodded, sitting at the kitchen table having his beer and a cigarette, "What'd she say?"

"Thanks but no thanks, basically." Punk said, "She was polite about it, I guess." He nodded, "I'm just worried about her, you know. In that apartment twenty four seven with Thea. She probably wants to get a job but she can't… she'll have no one to look after Thea." He said, "I wanna help her."

"First you gotta get her trust back, man." Dean shook his head, "She's not your ride or die anymore. She puts her everything into Thea and she trusts nobody. That's what you're working with here." He nodded as Punk sighed, throwing his cap onto the table and collapsing down on the seat, "You're gonna have good and bad days-"

"I just want her to know how sorry I am." Punk sighed to himself, "I feel like I just… I can't put into words how sorry." He said, "She was there for me through everything. She was my best friend and that's… that's how I treated her."

"You were a dumb kid. You've learned. You've grown. We all have. She made mistakes too-"

"She got out of hers. She grew up. She wanted us to get proper jobs and work things out, and I wanted to take the easy road and work with Rio." Punk said, "Maybe this is exactly what I deserve. This is the world giving back what I put into it. Bullshit." Punk said as Dean sighed, stubbing out his cigarette and sitting up.

"Ok, listen to me… you're not a bad person." Dean nodded, "We did what we had to back then to survive, to get money, to get away from mom and all her bullshit. We weren't perfect but we learn, we grow… now you gotta focus on the now. You got a daughter. Put all that energy into her. Be a good dad. Be a dad that we never even knew." Dean said, "Because I know you can do it."

"I'll be as good a dad as I was a boyfriend." Punk scoffed, running his hand through his blonde hair.

"Quit that." Dean said, "You're gonna be good. And you and April… it might take time, a lot of time, but what you had with her, you know it's still there and so does she deep down." Dean said, "I was there. I was with you guys. I saw it. You don't get that kind of love anywhere." He said as Punk sighed, "You gotta put on your adult pants now, keep your head down and work hard." He said.

"When did you get so wise?" Punk smiled a little. He saw a significant change in his younger brother. They had both changed in many positive ways. They saw more to life than just getting by. They saw more to fight for, more to take care of.

"It's the beer." Dean nodded to him as Punk scoffed.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure." Punk scoffed, "Thank you." He nodded sincerely as Dean smiled.

"Just behave yourself, alright?" Dean nodded to him as Punk smiled and nodded, "She'll come to you when she's ready. And drop this coffee bullshit… we're not turning into those people who drink coffee every day. I will not let us." He warned as Punk smiled, "Street kids don't drink coffee." He said as Punk just smiled and nodded.


	11. Lost

**Lost**

* * *

_AJ was on her own at the motel. She'd ordered the cheapest take-out she could find near-by and was sitting on the bed watching TV. Simple things like a bad, like warm water and warm food, was everything to them. _

_After growing up in such poor conditions, she always thought she was the only one in the world who was going through hardship and pain, and then she met her friends… then she met him. And they created a world where they turned those hardships into fun, into family, into love. She didn't know where she would be without them._

_She sat on the bed, chowing down the pizza she'd gotten, being considerate enough to leave some for the boys when they got home in the morning. Normally the jobs Rio had them do lasted the full night, where they would return in the morning with a bag of cash for themselves. It was hard not to get excited about the money when they had so little._

_She was watching some ridiculous sit com, cherishing the TV time she had when she suddenly saw blue flashing lights pulling up._

"_You've got to be kidding me." AJ slid off the bed and ran over to the window, wearing nothing but one of her boyfriend's t-shirts, "Shit." She whispered to herself, pulling open the curtain a little and peeking out where she saw a lot of cop cars pulling up outside._

_She quickly ran over to her backpack, emptying it and grabbing all the things she had stolen, running into the bathroom and pulling the toilet out, stuffing everything into the top of the toilet before closing the lid back over._

_She ran back out into the room and over to the window again, dreading to hear that loud knock on the door, watching out the window with her heart beating so rapidly._

_She gave it another five minutes before leaving the room, opening up the door and stepping out onto the strip, looking down at people gathered at a door. She walked down the motel, making her way over to the crowded people as she asked a woman what was going on._

"_What happened?" AJ asked._

"_Suspected overdose." The woman nodded._

"_Suicide." Someone else called as AJ listened to all the different assumptions people were already making._

_She then watched as a body bag was pulled from the room in a gurney. She remembered speaking to the woman from the room the other day. It definitely scared her. _

* * *

"_Wake up." Punk whispered, leaning over AJ, kissing her on the cheek as AJ slowly opened her eyes the next morning, "Hey." He smiled._

"_Hey." AJ smiled with relief, sitting up and wrapping her arms around him tightly, "Did you get it?" AJ asked him as he nodded._

"_What the hell happened here last night? Couple doors down is taped off." Punk noticed whilst walking over and grabbing a large bag._

"_The girl died. I heard all different stories." AJ shrugged, "I think she committed suicide." She nodded._

"_Shit." Punk sighed as AJ nodded._

"_How much did you get?" AJ asked him as he tossed the bag over onto the bed, unzipping it as AJ looked on, "Wow." AJ raised her eyebrows, "This seems like… more than usual." She said as Punk nodded._

"_That's because it is." Punk smiled._

"_How the hell did you end up with more?" AJ shook her head._

"_Rio upped our price." Punk shrugged as AJ smiled with amazement._

"_Holy shit." AJ smiled. She didn't want to question why the price was upped because she knew the answer would worry her, so she blocked that out._

"_I started looking at apartment listings in the paper." Punk nodded as AJ smiled._

"_Oh my God." AJ squealed, jumping off the bed and running around the room with excitement as Punk chuckled, "Can you imagine?" AJ collapsed on the floor with laughter, "Our own place?" She placed her hand on her chest as Punk looked over at her with a smile._

"_I can imagine it." Punk nodded. It was all he imagined. A place of their own, where it was just the two of them in their own private world. To him it didn't matter where the money came from, as long as he had her, he didn't care. That was the trouble of his mind._

"_No more moving around." AJ thought to herself, sitting up on the floor and looking over at him as he smiled cockily, "What are you smirking about over there?" She stood up, walking over to the bed and crawling back onto it._

"_Just thinking about all the fun we're gonna have." Punk smirked._

"_What kind of fun?" She whispered, pushing him down on the bed as he chuckled, watching her straddle his hips as he looked up at her._

"_I haven't slept in twenty four hours." He said as she smiled._

"_Then I'll help you drift off." AJ whispered, leaning forward and kissing him passionately. She was high on their love at all times, and so was he._

* * *

"Ok, this is ready to go." Punk passed the bottle of formula to AJ, watching her as she squirted some on her wrist for some reason.

"Oh my gosh, Phil. That's boiling hot." AJ scolded as Punk looked at her with confusion.

"Well yeah… it's warm milk, right? That's what she has?" Punk questioned, "Why'd you put it on your wrist?"

"It needs cooled." AJ shook her head, "You test the milk on your wrist. It should feel just a little warm. Like room temperature." AJ said, "This would burn her."

"I… I didn't know." Punk shook his head. Sometimes he thought he was doing good, and then something like this happens.

"No… no, it's ok." AJ calmed down, "You didn't know." AJ shook her head, "We can just let it cool." AJ nodded calmly, "I should have said." She realised, "I… I went to classes for all of this so… I don't expect you to know anything."

"Classes?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded.

He'd come over straight from work and was a little early, which meant Thea was still asleep having a nap, hence why he was attempting to get her bottle ready for her waking.

"Yeah. Parenting classes." AJ said, "I was the youngest there. And the dumbest." She nodded.

"I'm sure that's not true." Punk said, "Nobody knows what they're doing when it comes to parenting." He shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe." AJ nodded, standing in the kitchen as an awkward silence fell over the place. She didn't really know what to say to him. She didn't want to open up conversations with him in the fear that she would open up too much. She didn't want to open up.

"So…" Punk said awkwardly as she nodded along, more silence filling the kitchen as Punk looked around. He didn't want to start up much conversation with him, because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"You're living with Dean?" AJ asked.

"Yes." Punk said immediately, glad to break the silence, "And I'm working with him."

"Wow, that's a lot of Dean." AJ raised her eyebrows as Punk nodded.

"You'd be surprised actually. I don't see him that much." Punk admitted.

"I assume he visited you in prison?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah, every week." Punk nodded, "You know, I worried about him but… I think me going to prison done us both a favour. He's grew up a lot. Got a good head on his shoulders. And he actually… gives good advice now. Who would have thought?" He said as AJ smiled a little.

"And what sort of advice is he giving you?" She asked curiously.

"Just… how to pick my life up again after the mess I left it in." Punk nodded, "How to deal with practically ruining everything I had with you." He said as AJ looked at him.

"And what's his advice on that?" AJ wondered.

"Just give it time." Punk said as AJ looked at him.

"Time?" AJ asked, "You think that's gonna fix things? I've had time, Phil. A whole year of it. On my own." She said, "I don't need any more time."

"I'm here now." Punk said, "It's different."

"It's not really." AJ shrugged, even though she knew it was, "I don't think you have quite understood how much you hurt me." She shook her head, "You were all I had. All I trusted." She said, "And I tried to help you, I warned you that you were going to end up in prison. You chose to ignore me. I tell you I'm having your baby and you slept with someone else-"

"You know… you bring that up and you forget to mention every time that you broke up with me. You called it off. You told me it was over-"

"I thought it would snap you out of it. I thought if you realised you were gonna lose me and your baby then you'd get yourself together and instead you headed to Rio's, you got with some junkie in our bed and then two days later you got arrested and imprisoned." AJ said, "You didn't care."

"Do you really think that? Do you really think I didn't care? Even when we spent four years together, running, hiding, spending every day with each other." He said, "You're the only thing I ever cared about, and you know fine well that's the truth."

"Then you should have treated me like I was the only thing you cared about." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"You're right. I should have." Punk nodded.

"Have you spoken to Rio since you got out?" AJ asked him.

"No, of course I haven't. And I don't plan to." Punk said, "I'm holding down this job and I'm… I'm being there for my daughter." He said, "I get paid in two weeks so I was thinking… I could take her out for the day or something, you could come, get out of here for a bit, get some fresh air-"

"No." AJ shook her head as Punk looked at her.

"You gotta get out of this apartment, April. From time to time." Punk said, "We could take her to the park, she'd love the swings-"

"She's three months old." AJ scoffed.

"I'd sit her on my knee, obviously." Punk rolled his eyes, "Come on, if there's anywhere we know, it's outside." He said.

"No, she has a routine. I have a routine-"

"Of what? Staying in here all day? Every day?" Punk questioned, "You're gonna go stir crazy."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" AJ shook her head, "You think you can come on in and tell me how to live my life? You of all people?"

"It was just a suggestion." Punk put his hands up.

"No it was judgement." AJ spat.

"It's worry, actually." Punk said, "I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Phil. Trust me." AJ rolled her eyes, "You don't get to just come in and make plans with Thea like you've been here the whole time." She said as Punk looked at her. He felt like she was just being mad at him because it was easier than to show how much she still missed him.

"Ok ok." Punk nodded calmly.

"I think you should just go." AJ shook her head.

"What?" Punk looked at her, "I wanna see Thea."

"You can come by tomorrow." AJ said, "I want you to leave." She nodded as Punk sighed.

"Fine." Punk nodded, "You gotta open up to me at some point, April."

"I don't have to do shit." AJ shook her head, "Get out." She spat as Punk walked out of the kitchen and left the apartment.

She turned into the kitchen counter, leaning over it and sighing to herself. She felt so lost within herself. She used to have things so figured out and now she just felt lost.


	12. For Her

**For Her**

* * *

"_Hey, where is April?" Dean asked, wandering over to Punk who was sitting on an outside bench where a strip of stores were._

"_She's in there getting new clothes." Punk pointed as Dean looked at the store, "We're going to check out the new apartment today." He said._

"_Oh, nice." Dean nodded, "You think you'll get it?"_

"_Yeah." Punk nodded positively, "It's not getting it that I'm worried about. It's keeping it." Punk said as Dean nodded, "I know how April feels about Rio and working for him but… if I did some jobs for him every month, we could live on that money. It's quick and it's easy-"_

"_It is. I don't blame you for wanting to keep doing it." Dean nodded, "You just gotta make sure April is ok with it." Dean said as Punk sighed and nodded. _

"_She wants us to get jobs but I've been applying without telling her and… every single person has rejected me. I didn't want to tell her because I knew it'd scare her." Punk said, "This is easy for us, it's what we know… why change it?"_

"_Yeah, I get you." Dean said, watching AJ storm out of the store with very obviously no bags in her hands._

"_Hey." Punk stood up, "April." He called, watching as she ran off down the street. _

"_What the hell?" Dean turned to Punk who ran after her. He cursed at her for being so fast, but he eventually found her at a rest stop, watching her run into the toilet as he sighed._

_He ran up to the bathroom door and knocked on it, "Ape, what happened?" Punk asked, "Let me in." He said, listening to the door unlock as he walked into the bathroom where she was sitting on the toilet seat, "Hey, what's up?" Punk crouched down in front of her._

"_They wouldn't let me buy anything." AJ looked at him, "And then they… they made me empty my bag before I left." She said as Punk ran his hand through his hair._

"_Hey, you can go somewhere else. You don't need that." Punk shook his head._

"_I told them I had money to spend and they still told me to leave." AJ shook her head, "I'm fed up of being on everyone's bottom tier."_

"_Hey." Punk took her hands, "You're not on my bottom tier. You're at the very top of mine." He smiled, "`They don't know what they're talking about. People are just… rude, and you don't gotta listen to that." He said as AJ nodded, wiping her tears as Punk frowned._

_He very rarely saw her cry. She was an extremely tough individual. The strongest person he knew, and he hated to see her hurt. It hurt him._

"_Don't cry." He whispered, drying her tears, "Hey, we're going to have a look at that apartment, and we're probably gonna get it." He nodded, "We're moving on up." He said as AJ smiled a little, "It's gonna be our own place. Our home." He said as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, I'm being dumb." AJ realised, giving herself into trouble for crying as she dried her tears up._

"_No, you're not." Punk assured her, "Come here." He sighed, standing up as she stood up, falling into his arms and hugging him tightly. He instantly made her feel better. Just the feeling of him. He was like a safety blanket for her._

* * *

"_I can't believe this could be our own place." AJ shook her head, walking around the apartment. _

_It wasn't the best looking place. A lot of things needed fixed and it was pretty empty in regards to furniture. But it was a place, it was a possibility to finally have stability. Something neither of them knew anything about._

"_Pretty sweet, huh?" Punk nodded, wandering into the kitchen as AJ followed._

"_This could be our home." AJ said with amazement, looking around the kitchen. They'd spent the past few years hopping from other people's homes to dangerous motels. To have this chance to have their own place felt like a dream._

"_I know it's a little rough around the edges and this side of town isn't the safest but… I think this is awesome." Punk nodded, both showing their humble and grateful roots as they looked upon this apartment with hope._

"_Hey." The superintendent of the building walked back into the apartment, "So here are your keys." The man nodded, "I've gave you two sets-"_

"_What?" Punk shook his head, "We were told to just come and take a look." He said as AJ looked on with hope._

"_Well we had someone else coming to see it early this morning but they passed on it." The man said, "So, you got it." He told them as AJ turned to Punk._

_She immediately jumped on him, wrapping her arms and legs around him as he chuckled and squeezed her tightly._

"_Oh my God." AJ squealed so excitedly as Punk spun her around._

"_Rent gets paid at the end of every month." The man interrupted their celebrating, "No pets. No disturbing the peace." He waved his hand, "Enjoy it." He shrugged, wandering away, not particularly helpful but they didn't car._

"_Oh my God, keys." AJ said, jumping down from on top of Punk, picking up the keys sitting on the kitchen table, "Keys to our own place. This is ours." AJ said with amazement as Punk watched her._

_The best part wasn't getting the apartment, it was seeing the joy on her face, the excitement and the constant smiling, watching her opening up the cupboards and talking about what they could put where. _

"_Our own place, huh?" Punk smiled to himself proudly as AJ nodded, looking over at him._

"_I don't even care where the money is coming from." AJ shrugged foolishly. She knew she should have cared, but in the moment, she didn't. She was on too much of a high to care about anything other than them being here and having their own place._

"_You don't?" Punk smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shook her head._

"_No." AJ said, "We'll be fine." She said as Punk nodded._

"_I got you no matter what." Punk nodded as she smiled. _

"_I love you so much." She said, cupping the back of his head, looking into his eyes. Their bond was on another level. He wasn't just her boyfriend. They'd gone through he worst times together, side by side, they got each other. She knew that he was her soulmate, no one else would stand a chance in her lifetime._

"_I love you." Punk smiled, leaning down and kissing her._

* * *

"What is this?" AJ asked, sitting in the kitchen whilst feeding Thea, watching Punk pass an envelope over the table.

"Well I got paid today." Punk said.

"And you're giving me money?" AJ questioned, "I'm not your charity-"

"It's for Thea." Punk corrected, "Can you not… fight me on everything?" He shook his head as AJ looked across at him, "I told you I would start giving you money for her. For diapers and stuff. I wanna help." He nodded.

"It's fine, you don't give money-"

"Well I'm leaving it here, so use it." Punk said, "Go buy her an outfit or something. A new toy. Or use it to pay the rent. Do something with it." He nodded as she looked across at him.

It wasn't like she was surprised by his actions. It was just a reminder that he was a very good person, and he did care a lot.

"She needs some new onesies." AJ nodded, "And I… I am short for rent this month so…" She shrugged as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, do whatever you need to." He said as AJ nodded.

"Thank you." AJ nodded sincerely. She didn't like to be helped, she'd been that way her whole life, she liked to do things on her own, but when she was struggling this much, she couldn't turn help away, even from him, "How does it feel to get your first pay cheque?" AJ asked him.

"Good." Punk smiled, "Actually being able to pay for things and not feel guilty about it… it's nice." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"I bet." She smiled as Punk watched her.

It was such a beautiful sight to see her sitting feeding their daughter. He could see just how wonderful a mother she was just by the way she held Thea. Like she was her everything. He would never give up on them. It would be impossible to.

"I assume you want a job at one point." Punk said.

"Yeah, I'd like to get one." AJ nodded, "I worked in a café when I was pregnant, they told me they would hire me back but… I have no one to watch Thea, it's not realistic." She shrugged.

"Maybe down the line, I could watch her and you could work. We could fix some sort of schedule up." Punk suggested, "If it's what you would want." He said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be good." AJ nodded, "Are you staying for her bath?"

"Am I allowed?" He laughed a little.

"You don't have to ask that." AJ said, "Yes, you're allowed." She nodded as he smiled.

"Yeah, I'll stay." Punk said, "I can go run the bath." He stood up as AJ nodded, "I check it with my wrist, right?" He asked.

"Elbow." AJ smiled a little.

"Right." Punk shook his head, walking away out of the kitchen as AJ smiled to herself a little.

She pulled over the envelope he had given her, opening it up and looking at the cash. She didn't expect him to give her so much. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't mad about the fact she had to pay for things on her own whilst he was gone, she was mad about them and what happened. The money showed he truly cared for his daughter and any necessities that she needed.

"We'll get you some new onesies, baby. Huh?" AJ smiled, stroking Thea's cheek whilst giving her the bottle.

Punk eventually returned into the kitchen after running the bath for Thea, just in time for her to finish up her bottle. AJ passed her over to him and he took her into the bathroom.

"Hey can you just check the water is ok for her?" Punk asked worriedly as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, sure." AJ said, rolling her t-shirt up and dipping her elbow into the bath tub where the shallow water was, "That's perfect." AJ nodded to him as he smiled. She could see how much he cared and how much good he wanted to do by his daughter. That put her mind at ease for some reason.

"Ok, in we go." Punk hummed, leaning over the bath and holding Thea into the shallow water as AJ stood by the door watching, "Look at you." He smiled, holding her up as she kicked her legs a little.

He then watched as the baby girl smiled, touching the water with her hands as both AJ and Punk smiled to themselves.

"I love that smile." AJ whispered to herself.

"I love her." Punk shook his head, "I didn't think something so small and tiny could mean this much. I would do anything for her." He said as AJ nodded. She believed him.

"Yeah, me too." AJ agreed as Punk looked up at her.

"I know that… me and you aren't… we're not getting along, it's obvious. But can we just… be civil for her?" Punk asked her as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, we can." AJ nodded, "We can do it for her." AJ made clear as Punk nodded.

He figured his ex needed time. She had been through a lot. She'd been so alone this entire time that having him back was something she probably wasn't used to now, even though they were glued to each other's hip before. He figured the most important thing he could focus on right now was his baby daughter. That was something they could both agree on.


	13. Receipts

**Receipts**

* * *

"_Morning." Punk whispered, leaning over the bed and kissing his girlfriend hello as AJ began to wake up. _

"_Hey." AJ said sleepily, adjusting her eyes to the morning as she looked over at him taking his t-shirt off, "Are you just home?" She asked as he nodded._

"_Yeah, I just got back." Punk said, "Don't worry, it's still early." He told her as AJ nodded, resting her head back on the pillow._

_The difference she felt in sleeping in the apartment compared to someone else's house or a loud, unsafe motel was very different. She actually felt safe here, even if it was in a rough neighbourhood. _

_Over the past few weeks they had begun getting more things for the apartment, making it feel like home. Of course, the money source was their friend Rio who Punk was working with a lot more frequently. AJ let it slide because the feeling of having their home was just too good. She didn't care how they funded it. She was young, in love and feeling on top of the world._

"_How'd it go?" She asked him as Punk got into bed._

"_Smooth sailing." Punk nodded, "What did you do with your night?" He asked curiously. _

"_I didn't do much. I went and did our laundry. Didn't have enough to dry everything so a lot of stuff is hanging out the windows." AJ told him._

"_Oh, I noticed." Punk chuckled, "It's humid out there, they'll be dry in no time." Punk nodded._

"_You get cash in hand?" AJ asked him._

"_Yeah, it's in the backpack over there." Punk said as AJ nodded, "So you really just did nothing all night?" He asked her as she smirked._

"_Yeah, really." AJ smiled, "Just waiting for you." She whispered._

"_You thinking of me?" He nodded as she smiled._

"_I'm always thinking about you, baby." AJ smirked, rolling over on top of him as Punk smiled, pulling her face down to capture her lips, kissing her deeply whilst AJ ground her hips on him, "I had to touch myself last night. I missed you so bad." She whispered in his ear, kissing his neck as Punk smiled, pulling her t-shirt off her._

"_Well I'm here now." Punk said seductively as AJ smiled, going back to kissing his lips as he trailed his kiss down her throat, leaning up and kissing her breasts as she smirked at the feeling._

_She pushed him back down onto his back as Punk chuckled, watching her turn around in reverse to him as he whistled to himself and rolled his head back._

_She pushed his boxers down when suddenly she felt him pull her up by the hips to his face, straddling herself over his face as she felt him push her panties to the side and feast on her._

"_Fuck." AJ moaned out, reaching out and stroking him up and down with her hand. The more pleasure her body felt, the more she wanted to give, and it was personally her favourite set up._

_She exchanged her hand for her mouth, bobbing her head up and down on him whilst he moaned between her folds, flicking his tongue over her clit and entrance, gripping her hips tightly to keep her close to him._

_She lifted her head when she felt his tongue go a little further up, smiling back to him and stroking him with her hand, "Pick one." AJ whispered as she heard him laughing._

"_I want them all." He slapped her on the ass as she moaned and smiled._

_She moved her hips down in his body, staying in reverse with her back to him but still straddling his hips, placing her hands on the mattress between his legs as Punk watched her guide his length up to her entrance._

"_Fuck, baby. This looks so good." Punk grabbed her ass as she smiled, adjusting him inside her as she began to move her hips up and down. The position gave her hips freedom to really rock up and down and Punk was in heaven as he watched her ass bounce up and down whilst taking his length deep._

"_Fuck." AJ moaned out, gripping the sheets as she moved her hips up and down._

"_Oh my God." Punk moaned, running his hands through his hair, watching her hips move quick, her walls sliding up and down around him as he rolled his head back with bliss, "Ape, you're gonna make me cum like that." Punk moaned out, losing it at the very sight of her so hungry and eager for him._

"_Good. Give me your cum." AJ moaned, stroking herself whilst keeping her other hand balanced on the mattress, "Fuck." She moaned, feeling his length hitting her g-spot, being in control and making sure she got the right spots which he always hit anyway, "Fuck, I'm gonna cum." AJ whispered to herself._

_It didn't take long before both of them reached their release, AJ then followed by Punk. AJ waited until he spilled every drop inside of her before detaching herself from him, feeling his seed run out of her as she collapsed on her stomach._

"_Fuck." Punk watched her, sighing to himself with relaxation as AJ smiled, "You're incredible." He shook his head AJ smiled to herself, lifting her head up and looking back at him._

"_Of course you say that now." AJ smirked, "It's all yours, baby. Don't you forget it." She smiled as he nodded._

"_You trust me, I won't." He smiled._

* * *

"Get up!" Dean smashed a pillow against Punks face as he immediately sat up with a fright.

"W-What? What's going on?" Punk slurred, looking around the room.

"You got a visitor. Visitors." Dean corrected.

"Who?" Punk shook his head, "It's my day off, man. Leave me alone." Punk grumbled, laying back down in bed, hugging into the pillow.

"April and Thea." Dean hummed as Punk opened an eye back up curiously.

"Really?" Punk sat up.

"Yeah, really." Dean said, "In the living room right now." Dean nodded as Punk got out of bed, "Woah… man, you still sleep naked? What's that about?" Dean turned around as Punk reached for his boxers and put them.

"Well I gotta shower… can you entertain them or something? Tell her I'll be five minutes. Wait… why is she here?" He asked.

"No idea." Dean shrugged.

"Well… go tell her I'll be five minutes." Punk said as Dean nodded, walking out of the room and back into the living room where AJ was sat, holding Thea in her arms.

"He's just going for a shower. He'll be five minutes." Dean said as AJ nodded, "Do I have the cutest niece or what?" Dean smiled, crouching down in front of AJ, "I just wanna eat those cheeks." He said as AJ smiled.

"Yeah, a lot of people do." AJ nodded, watching as Dean kissed Thea's hand. She realised this was the first Dean really got to interact with Thea. She never meant to lose her friendship with him in the crossfire, but she had to shut herself off to cope, it was just easier for her.

"Hey, you had breakfast?" Dean asked her.

"I've had something." AJ nodded, "This is a nice place." She said. It was the first she had been at the apartment and she had to admit, it was a pretty nice place. Luxurious compared to the place she slept in every night.

"Yeah, you like it?" Dean smiled as AJ nodded, "Not bad rent for it too." He said as AJ nodded, "No smashed in windows either." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Phil likes to gossip then, huh?" AJ nodded.

"Hey, he tells me everything. You know that." Dean said as AJ nodded.

"Well I appreciated the guys from your work coming to fix the window. Took a lot of pressure off me. And they were all so sweet to me, and to Thea. They really loved her." AJ smiled.

"She's hard not to smile around." Dean nodded, "You and my brother made a cute ass kid." He admitted, stroking Thea's cheeks as AJ cradled her into her.

"Yeah, I think so." AJ had to agree with a smile.

"I'm gonna make breakfast. You sure you don't want anything?" Dean asked her.

"I'm sure. Thanks, Dean." AJ nodded as Dean smiled. He understood the pain she'd gone through, not literally, but they had both lost someone important for a whole year. And he knew what went on with her and his brother before Punk left for prison had really affected her badly. He didn't blame her for putting her guard so high up, that Punk questioned if he could actually bring it down.

Punk eventually got out the shower, rushing to get clothes on as he eventually appeared in the living room, "Hey." Punk smiled as AJ looked up.

"Hi." AJ nodded, "Sorry, I… well I thought you'd be up." She said. It was past 11am, but she knew he was lazy for sure.

"Yeah, well I normally am but it's my day off today." Punk said, "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, yeah." AJ said, "I just wanted to come by and tell you what I did with the money you gave me. I have… I have receipts." She said, reaching into the diaper bag on the stroller to get the receipts out as Punk looked with confusion.

"April, you didn't have to bring me receipts." He laughed a little, sitting down on the couch beside her.

"Just so you know." AJ shrugged, "So I used some to pay the rent. I got a pack of diapers and a tub of formula." She nodded, "A lot of onesies." She showed him the receipt, "She's actually got one on just now." She said as Punk smiled, reaching over and tickling Thea's little tummy, "Oh, I got her another pacifier because I lost her old one."

"April you… you don't have to bring me the receipts-"

"Well I don't want you to think I used it for myself." AJ shrugged as Punk looked at her. He knew it was just how they were brought up. Were they felt they always had to defend their finances. He understood where she was coming from.

"I never thought you would use it on yourself but… there's no problem if you do." Punk assured her, "I mean this is… this is stuff I should have been here buying her from the beginning." He nodded, "So please… don't feel guilty." He said as AJ nodded.

"I just don't want you think I would steal it from her or anything like that." AJ said.

"I would never think that." Punk nodded.

"Ok… well good." AJ said, "I should get going then."

"Why don't you stay for breakfast?" Punk wondered.

"I've already ate." AJ stood up as Punk nodded, "But thanks." She said, putting Thea into the stroller as Punk stood up.

"You're always welcome here." Punk made clear as she nodded.

"Thank you." AJ said, "I best get going, though." She said, "Enjoy your day off." She said, pushing the stroller out of the living room and leaving the apartment as Punk sighed to himself a little.

He looked at the receipts she'd given him, shaking his head and wandering through to the kitchen.

"So what was that about?" Dean asked.

"She wanted to give me the receipts from things she bought Thea with my money." Punk shook his head as Dean turned to him, "Because she doesn't want me to think that she spent it on herself."

"And did you think that?" Dean asked as Punk sat down at the table.

"No, of course not." Punk said, "She's just so different around me now. She's so jittery and anxious. I don't wanna make her feel like that." He sighed sadly.

"Hey, she'll calm down." Dean nodded, "You being back is still fresh. She's getting used to seeing you again. It's normal." He said, "Things are going well, you're focusing on Thea and your job and I bet April is noticing."

"I don't know about that." Punk shook his head, "I just want her to trust me again."

"She will. In good time." Dean patted him on the back, "Make yourself useful and make some toast." He said as Punk nodded.


	14. Remember

**Remember**

* * *

"_Ape, you gotta turn the music down!" Punk called from the doorway in their apartment as he got home, "Downstairs are complaining again!" He called over the loud music that his girlfriend was playing._

_He walked down the hallway and into the living room, leaning against the door ledge with a smile as he watched her dance around in his t-shirt, making use of the new Hifi system they had just bought along with the TV and some other things. Punk was working a lot more with Rio._

"_As much as I would watch this all night." Punk smiled, "You gotta turn it down." He told her as AJ turned to him._

"_No, I don't wanna." AJ smiled back as Punk nodded._

"_Fine, you deal with the crackheads downstairs then when they come knocking." Punk hummed, wondering away into the kitchen as AJ continued to dance to the music. _

_The way they grew up, they didn't have access to TV, to music, to actual money that allowed them to buy these things. So having all these luxuries was something AJ couldn't get quite used to yet. Their apartment was turning into a home more and more every day and it was their place. Their special place._

_She continued to dance to the music, no regard to the rest of the apartment block because she just didn't care._

_Punk was in the kitchen making a sandwich when he heard an aggressive knock at the door, "Ape!" Punk yelled loudly, "The door!" He called to her as AJ rolled her eyes._

_She switched off the Hifi, running down the hallway and looking in the peep hole as she saw it was the woman from downstairs who always complained about them, "This bitch." AJ whispered to herself._

_She opened up the door, "What?" AJ looked at her angrily._

"_Are you serious?" The woman shook her head. She was skinny and scrawny with a terrifying face, but AJ wasn't scared._

"_What is your problem?" AJ shook her head, "First we have sex too loud, now I can't play my music?" AJ questioned._

"_Turn it down, you little witch!" The woman pointed whilst Punk appeared from the kitchen, wandering down the hallway and standing behind AJ, "Knock some sense into this whore of yours." She nodded to Punk who raised his eyebrows._

"_Whore?" AJ questioned, "Did she just call me a whore?" AJ turned to Punk who nodded, biting into his sandwich, "For your information, missy, I have slept with one person my entire life." She pointed at her._

"_Yeah, right." The woman scoffed, "Turn the music down or I'll call the cops." She warned as AJ turned to Punk._

_He then watched as AJ jumped on the woman, tackling her down to the ground as she began punching her, both of them rolling around outside the apartment as Punk watched. He knew his girlfriend could fight, and he knew better than to pull her back from a fight._

* * *

"_Hold still." Punk said, cleaning AJ's nose at the kitchen table with a wipe, getting rid of all the dried in blood as AJ stayed still._

"_Why'd she call me a whore?" AJ asked him as Punk shrugged._

"_Just an insult. She could have went with a lot of other ones." Punk said, wiping her eyebrow. Her face was in quite the mess after the brawl outside the apartment. Thankfully no cops were called and the woman scurried away back to her apartment._

"_Is that what people think of me?" AJ whispered as Punk looked at her._

"_You're not a whore, April." Punk shook his head, angry that she would think that. It was ridiculous for her to think that. _

"_Yeah, to you." AJ said, "She obviously has that perception of me."_

"_Who cares what people think?" Punk shook his head, cleaning up her nose and making sure it was clean. It wasn't the first time he'd cleaned her up from a fight._

"_She must hear us having sex a lot." AJ said, "So… just by having sex I'm a whore? Girls can't have sex and enjoy it but guys can?" AJ questioned, "That's fucking bullshit."_

"_You can enjoy it." Punk assured her, "I think she just meant it as an insult. Not literally. I think you got your revenge." He nodded._

"_I could have gotten more out of it if you hadn't pulled me back." She said angrily._

"_You were both gonna fall down the stairs." Punk said as AJ rolled her eyes, "Ok, you got blood in your nose and I'm not putting my finger up there. That's all you." He told her as she smiled and nodded, taking the wipe from him._

"_You heard from Dean recently?" AJ asked him._

"_Well I saw him last night. He's been bunking up with Seth. Seems to be doing fine." Punk nodded._

"_When are you working with Rio again?" AJ asked him._

"_Tomorrow night." Punk nodded as AJ raised her eyebrows._

"_That's almost been every night this week." AJ realised as Punk nodded, "Don't we have enough for now-"_

"_Well it's best to keep it coming in, right?" Punk nodded._

"_Yeah. I guess." AJ nodded, "I do enjoy that new Hifi system."_

"_I see that." Punk smiled, "Our lovely neighbours do not."_

"_Well they're in for a treat tonight." AJ scoffed, "I need you to make me scream." She nodded as Punk smiled._

"_Won't be hard." Punk smirked as AJ nodded, "You good? No more bleeding?" He checked her face out._

"_I'm good." AJ nodded as Punk smiled, "When are we gonna start looking for real jobs?" AJ asked him as Punk looked at her._

"_I-I thought you didn't want that." Punk said as AJ laughed a little._

"_Well… we can't live like this forever. Depending on Rio to help us out." AJ scoffed._

"_Why not?" Punk shrugged, "It's quick, it's easy, it's what we know… it's good money, and he's a good guy." Punk nodded, "I mean why would I get a job when I have all this money coming in-"_

"_Well because it's illegal." AJ reminded him._

"_So is pickpocketing on the L." Punk looked at her as AJ looked down, "No one's gotta know." He nodded as she looked across at him, "And no one is getting hurt. Look at the all shit we managed to buy. This place is ours. No one can take this from us. Not our parents, not strangers, not the cops. This place is ours." He told her as she nodded with a smile._

"_It is easier." AJ nodded to him. Sometimes doing the right thing was just too hard in the world they associated in. Sometimes the easy option was just too tempting, especially when it was so naturally easy to them._

"_I told you I got you." Punk said, "And we'll be fine." He nodded as AJ stood up from the chair, walking over to him and sitting on him, straddling herself over him on the chair and wrapping her arms around his neck._

"_What you're doing is bad." AJ whispered as Punk looked at her, nervous of what else she had to say, because he cared so much about what she thought, "But I'm ok with it." She whispered in his ear as Punk smiled a little, feeling her kiss his neck as he ran his hands down her back._

* * *

"Hey, we're getting good at this, baby." Punk smiled to himself as he executed a diaper successfully on Thea. She was lying down on AJ's bed whilst he leaned over, getting her ready for bed after her bath, "It's because we know each other now, isn't it?" He spoke to her, watching her little eyes follow him, "We have an understanding." He nodded to her.

"Here is her bottle." AJ walked into the room as Punk nodded, watching her put the bottle over on the nightstand whilst Punk put Thea's onesie on her. Every day he got more and more comfortable with her. He still felt like he knew nothing about babies, but he was definitely learning for sure.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that… the whole receipt thing the other day, you don't have to do that every time. She's my daughter and whatever you buy her, whatever you use the money for, that's up to you." Punk assured her.

"Well I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't ripping you off. Taking your money for something else. Everything went to Thea, and for some of the rent-"

"And you don't gotta explain that to me." Punk nodded, "I'm not gonna be one of those dads who shows up once a week just to say hello to their kid and… doesn't contribute anything." He said as AJ nodded, "You don't have to give me the evidence." He laughed a little as AJ shrugged.

"Well I just wanted to make sure." AJ said as Punk just nodded, looking back down at Thea whilst putting her onesie on.

"She's not fighting me tonight, this is good." Punk smiled to himself as AJ nodded.

"I think she's tired. She didn't have much of a nap today." She said, "Downstairs are being incredibly loud, getting refurbishments." She shook her head as Punk turned to her, "I know… who am I to complain about others being loud, I get it." AJ folded her arms childishly as Punk smiled a little, "Feels a little like karma."

"Oh, yeah. I got my karma." Punk nodded, "It's called prison. Not fun." Punk said as AJ nodded, watching him sit down on the bed, holding Thea in his arms and reaching for the bottle to feed her before putting her down.

"Scary?" AJ asked him as Punk looked up.

"Prison?" Punk asked as AJ nodded, "Yeah." Punk nodded, "But it also helped me out a lot."

"Well it's a shame you needed prison to open your eyes." AJ shrugged.

"Yeah, I know that." Punk said.

"Why couldn't you just listen to me? If I meant that much to you-"

"Because I got carried away, April. I lost myself. It was too involved with it all and… yeah, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Punk said, "Having to lay awake in a prison cell, thinking about you here, pregnant, alone… I hated myself. I still hate myself-"

"Well if it helped I hated you too." AJ nodded as Punk nodded with her in agreement, "I spoke about you all the time." She shrugged as Punk looked at her, "When I was pregnant with her." She said, "And I kept the pictures on the fridge because… I showed her them when she was born. Don't ask me why… I just felt like I had to."

"Even though you hated me?" Punk asked her. She was giving him very mixed signals, but going by what she would say, he could see she very much still loved and cared about him, and it appeared that she hated that. She hated that she loved him. That wasn't necessarily a good feeling.

"I hated what you did. I was mad at you. Never stopped loving you." AJ nodded as he smiled softly, "And you're always gonna be Thea's father."

"Is that all I'm ever gonna be to you?" Punk asked her, "Just your kid's dad?" He wondered as she looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah, maybe it is." AJ nodded to him, "Maybe what we had was this young, fun, but very stupid relationship, that was only supposed to last that long-"

"You don't believe that." Punk laughed to himself, "I know you don't." He said as she looked at him. Of course she didn't believe it, she was just trying to put it out there, "What we had was special. You can't deny that."

"But it was also very unhealthy." AJ said, "I realise that now. We were… we were bad for each other. We encouraged our mistakes and-"

"No, I remember us being in love." Punk nodded to her, "Being so in love that we just didn't care. That's what I remember." He shrugged.

"Well maybe we should have cared." AJ shrugged as Punk looked at her, turning down to Thea and noticing she was starting to fall asleep.

"Here." Punk passed the bottle over to her, standing up and putting Thea down into her crib, stroking her cheek softly and smiling whilst AJ watched.

She then watched as he turned around to her, walking over a little closer as she gulped a little.

"I know you still remember." Punk nodded as AJ looked up at him.

"Remember what?" She shook her head.

"Us." Punk whispered, "What it felt like." He said, reaching out and putting his hand on her waist slowly, "In this bedroom." He whispered softly, running his other hand down her side as she felt goosebumps travel down her arms, "You don't have to lie to yourself. I know it's easier to hate me right now." He nodded, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she gasped a little.

Feeling his hands on her, that innocent tuck of her hair, it was enough to remind her of all their closeness, their magic.

"You should go." AJ stepped back a little as Punk nodded.

"Same time tomorrow?" He questioned quietly as AJ nodded to him, "I'll see myself out." He told her as she nodded, watching him leave the room and head out of the apartment, taking a deep breath to herself and placing her hand on her chest. Feeling him that close to her again took her breath away. It only proved that she did remember. She remembered how it felt to be loved by him.


	15. Scared

**Scared**

* * *

"_Phil?" AJ questioned, standing up from the kitchen table after hearing the apartment door open. He was home earlier than usual and she was curious to know why._

_She walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway, watching Punk walk down from the door, "Oh my God." AJ gasped, "Phil… are you ok?" She rushed towards him, noticing he was limping and his face was very much a mess._

"_I'm fine." Punk nodded, "I'm fine." He limped._

"_You are not fine." AJ snapped, "Oh my God." She took his hand, looking at his face, "Look at your face." She shook her head. She'd never saw so many scratches and bruises on a face before._

"_I'm fine." Punk laughed, trying to ease her mind a little but it certainly wasn't working._

"_What the hell happened?" AJ shook her head, walking with him into the kitchen as he limped over to the table, taking a seat, wincing a little as AJ grabbed out the first aid kit, "Phil, talk to me. Tell me what happened?" She asked him, pulling out a seat in front of him._

"_There was just a bust up at a pick up point, that's all." Punk shook his head._

"_Was it just you?" AJ questioned._

"_No, we were all there." Punk said, "Cops came so I had to grab Dean and split." He said, "I think I got knifed on the leg." He admitted._

"_What?" AJ widened her eyes as Punk stood up, pushing his jeans down as AJ looked at the deep wound on his thigh, "Phil." AJ sighed with worry._

"_It's ok, I… just clean it out and I'll bandage it up." Punk waved his hand, unbothered as AJ looked at him._

"_So what the hell went wrong?" AJ asked, reaching over underneath the sink for some spirits to clean out the wound._

"_Rio changed suppliers. I don't know, there was some bust up between the old guys. They found out where we were storing tonight and they showed up looking for a fight" Punk nodded as AJ shook her head._

"_Is Dean ok?" AJ questioned_

"_Yeah, little banged up but he's ok." Punk nodded._

"_This is gonna hurt so… bite that." She grabbed a kitchen towel for him as he put it in his mouth whilst she poured some spirits over his wound, watching his face go red as he bit the kitchen towel, moaning in pain through it, "I know, I know… I'm sorry." She sighed, hating to see him in pain, "Phil, I think this needs a stitch." AJ said worriedly._

"_N-No…" Punk shook his head, taking the towel from his mouth, "No, just bandage it up. It's fine." Punk said as AJ sighed and nodded._

_She wrapped his thigh up in a bandage carefully, making sure to dress the wound appropriately. They'd gotten into their fair share of bumps and bruises before with different fights with strangers, but she hadn't saw him look in this bad shape before._

"_Isn't Rio smarter than this?" AJ asked him._

"_He was caught off guard." Punk defended._

"_Yeah and took the rest of you with him." AJ shook her head worriedly. Seeing him in this condition terrified._

"_Hey, this was just a one off. It was just a bust up, it's not gonna happen again." Punk nodded to her._

"_How do I know that?" AJ whispered, "I mean you're… you're working with dangerous people." AJ shook her head._

"_Hey, don't be spooked, it's gonna be fine." Punk nodded._

"_Spooked? Phil, look at you." AJ shook her head, "I'm terrified." She said as Punk sighed. He couldn't deny, they'd got caught up in a bad one tonight, and he was definitely feeling the effects._

"_You don't have to be terrified. I'm good." Punk nodded, "It was just a blip. It'll be taken care of." He said._

"_What the hell does that mean?" AJ asked, cleaning his face up as he looked in her eyes._

"_You trust me, don't you?" He looked into her eyes as she paused._

"_Yes, I trust you." AJ looked at him, "But it's not you I'm worried about. It's other people. You're playing a dangerous game and what… what happens when something goes wrong? What happens when that knife doesn't get your thigh but it gets you in the chest or… or the cops come and you get arrested-"_

"_Woah, slow… slow down." Punk nodded, "This was just a hiccup, Ape." He placed his hand on her thigh._

"_Look at you." AJ shrieked with fear, "You're a mess. This isn't what you signed up for."_

"_What did I sign up for?" Punk questioned, "We're gonna piss people off from time to time-"_

"_So you're saying this could happen again?" AJ raised her eyebrows._

"_No… no, I'm just saying it's not a big deal." Punk said, "I'm good."_

"_You are not good. Your eye is so bruised it's closing over and you have a literal stab wound on your thigh. You are not good." AJ spat as Punk sighed to himself, "I don't support this." She shook her head, "No way."_

"_Oh, but all the other illegal shit I do… you can get on board with?" Punk shook his head._

"_Yes, because no one is trying to kill you or inflict pain on you." AJ said, "I would rather have nothing, I would rather be out on the streets, homeless with no money at all than lose you." She said as Punk sighed to himself, feeling like he couldn't argue with her. He knew she was scared by this, and she had every right to be._

"_I'm sorry." Punk nodded, "There was nothing I could do. It just sort of happened." Punk said as AJ ran her hand through her hair. _

"_Maybe this isn't practical forever… maybe… maybe you get out of this before it's too late-"_

"_What happened to you being ok with it?" Punk questioned._

"_Yeah well that was before you came in looking like this." AJ said as Punk looked across at her, "I know we're not good people, Phil. I know we've done terrible things. Awful things. And I know you have a conscience just like I do." She said as Punk looked at her, "Maybe this doesn't end well in our favour."_

"_Maybe you're just overreacting." Punk figured as she stood up, the chair scraping on the floor behind her as Punk looked up at her._

_He watched her say nothing and walk out of the kitchen, listening to their bedroom door shut over as he sighed to himself._

* * *

"_Ape." Punk walked into their bedroom later that night, still limping of course as he saw AJ lying on their bed hugging into her teddy bear, one she always kept in her backpack from when she left home._

"_What?" AJ looked up at him, playing with the ears on her bear as he limped over to the bed._

"_We gotta talk." Punk said, sitting down on the bed carefully and sliding beside her, sitting against the headboard whilst she was lying down on the pillow, "I'm sorry this scared you-"_

"_I'm terrified of how much I depend on you." She whispered._

"_What?" He shook his head._

"_Since we started dating… I just… I turn to you for everything. I have no faith in myself." AJ realised as Punk shook his head._

"_Hell yes you do." Punk said as she looked up at him, "April, you're the strongest person I know. You don't depend on me for anything." He shook his head. If anything, he really depended on her way more, to give him advise, to pick him up when he was down, to look out for him when he was being stupid._

"_But I need you." AJ said, "I feel like if I lost you I would just… I'd lose it." AJ said as Punk shook his head._

"_You're not gonna lose me." He said, tracing his fingers over her forehead softly, "Something went wrong tonight but we'll deal with it and it'll be ok."_

"_What if it just gets worse?" AJ asked him._

"_It won't." He shook his head._

"_I mean when do we draw the line?" AJ asked, "When you get shot or stabbed? Or you're on your way to prison?" She scoffed._

"_That's not gonna happen." Punk said, "I promise you, it's me and you in this forever." He nodded as she looked up at him._

"_Are we horrible people?" AJ whispered as Punk looked at her._

"_No… no, we're not horrible people." Punk shook his head as AJ sighed to herself, "Hey, come on. We're doing good. We said no matter what it takes, it doesn't matter where the money comes from… no more motels, no more crashing at people's places-"_

"_Maybe I should have stayed at school." AJ said to herself as Punk looked at her._

"_April you hated school." Punk reminded her._

"_I did hate it." AJ agreed._

"_We're doing what we gotta do." Punk said as AJ nodded, "Tonight was just a little scar, it's not gonna happen again." He said, cupping her cheek softly as AJ nodded. _

"_I think I'm gonna try and get a job." AJ thought to herself as Punk nodded._

"_You do you. I'm behind you whatever you want." He nodded. She was always her own person who made her own choices. He never interfered with her in that sense. He would support her in anything._

"_It's probably a long shot, what with that criminal record." AJ nodded to herself, "Plus I think my parents pretty much worked everywhere in this town after they kept getting fired from places." She said._

"_Hey, if it's worth trying." Punk said as AJ nodded, playing with her bear, "You're still only nineteen. People will give you a chance." He said._

"_You could get a job." AJ looked up at him, "And we could just work as much as we can and we'd probably cover rent." She figured._

"_Yeah, maybe." Punk said, "I could get a job and… work for Rio on the side." He shrugged, "Extra cash." He thought to himself, "That's a good idea." He nodded to her as she just smiled casually._

"_Or you could tell Rio that… you're done. You're out." AJ said as Punk looked at her._

"_Come on, Rio's a good guy and we owe him a lot. If he needs me I'm gonna be there, you can understand that." He said as AJ nodded. She could. She knew her boyfriend was very loyal._

"_Yeah. Well maybe having that as an extra cash option is good." AJ figured. _

"_Yeah, I agree." Punk said as AJ smiled a little, "So you're not still mad at me?"_

"_I wasn't mad. I was just scared." AJ said, playing with her bear as Punk took it from her._

"_Don't be scared, April." Punk said in a funny voice whilst waving the bear in her face as AJ chuckled, "Phil has it all under control." He continued, pretending the bear was talking as AJ chuckled._

"_Does he?" AJ questioned._

"_Yes, he does." Punk said as AJ smiled, looking up at him, sitting up and kissing him sweetly, kissing down his neck as Punk smiled, leaning against the headboard whilst taking his t-shirt off. _

_AJ then pulled his jeans and boxers down, being careful with his bandage._

"_He's too young to see what I'm about to do." AJ said, tossing her bear off the bed as Punk chuckled to himself, watching her stroking him up and down as he moaned softly._

_She then lowered her mouth down onto his length, bobbing her head up and down on him._

"_Fuck, baby." Punk moaned, running his hand through her hair whilst she moved her mouth up and down, taking him all the way in and back out, "Fuck, that mouth." Punk rolled his head back, feeling her velvet mouth sliding up and down his length back and forth, the sound of sucking filling the room._

_AJ felt her eyes begin to water every time she took him deeper, but she loved it, bobbing her head up and down on him whilst listening to him moaning above. _

_She then moved up his body, taking her t-shirt and shorts off as Punk watched eagerly. She sat down on his length, crouched on top of him and clutching at his shoulders as Punk smiled to her._

_She always trusted him. He was her best friend, her partner, her companion in everything and no one could possibly have known her or loved her the way he did. The way he had since she was sixteen. There was never going to be another person like him in her life, and she was terrified of the possibility of losing him. _


	16. Rejected

**Rejected**

* * *

"So… where are you keeping all of the other pictures we took? I'm pretty we had more stuck up on here." Punk said, sitting in the kitchen looking on at the fridge pictures whilst holding Thea.

"You mean the inappropriate pictures with my breasts on show?" AJ asked him as he grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, those." Punk nodded, "I liked them."

"Of course you did." AJ said, "They're in a box somewhere, I don't know." She waved her hand, folding up some of Thea's onesies that she'd done at the laundry earlier on.

"Why'd you keep those ones up?" Punk asked, "I know you said… you showed Thea, but why'd you pick those ones." He pointed as AJ looked over.

"Because those are the ones we look best in." AJ said simply, "The ones we look less like homeless crackheads and more like… sophisticated drug dealers." She nodded to herself as Punk chuckled and nodded.

"I didn't think we had bad pictures together." Punk admitted.

"Oh, please." AJ scoffed, looking over as she saw Thea wriggling a little in Punk's arms. She was taken back at times by how good Thea was with him. It was like she enjoyed just sitting in his arms curled into him. She looked so content and relaxed. It was the best.

"I was… I was gonna ask if you had any pictures of her when she was just born?" Punk looked up as AJ looked at him.

"Yeah, a few." AJ nodded, "I'll go get them." She said, walking out of the kitchen to grab the pictures whilst Punk waited.

He knew it was only three months ago, and his baby girl was very much still just a little baby, but he really wanted to see her first moments. It killed him that he wasn't present.

"I only got a few." AJ said, walking back into the kitchen, "Here's the scan pictures too." She said, sitting them polaroid type pictures down as Punk looked on.

"She's so tiny and precious." Punk said, looking on at the pictures of Thea when she was just born as AJ watched, "She's just all you." He shook his head.

"You think?" AJ asked, looking on at the pictures.

"Hell yeah." Punk nodded, "Look…it's you three months ago." Punk showed Thea the picture as the baby girl lay in his arms contently, "She's grown so much already." He shook his head as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, she has." AJ nodded in agreement, "Do you wanna get her ready for her bath? I'll put these away." She said as Punk nodded.

She took the pictures back and walked back into the bedroom, pulling out the box under the bed where all the pictures were, looking at all the ones they had taken of themselves.

* * *

"_This is what you spent your pickpocketing money on? A camera?" Punk questioned, sitting down on the bed where AJ was lying setting up the new polaroid camera she had bought._

"_Yeah, and what about it?" AJ asked him, "I want to take nice pictures of us. We could end up being that couple who sends out a Christmas card-"_

"_Do you believe that's gonna happen?" Punk asked her as AJ shook her head._

"_No, that's not gonna happen." AJ chuckled, "I just wanted to hear what it would sound like to say that out loud." She said as Punk laughed._

"_So what are you planning on taking pictures of?" Punk asked her._

"_I don't know. Us." AJ shrugged, "I know we've got a few pictures but I want lots to look back on." She said, "When we're older."_

"_We have to get older?" Punk huffed._

"_Yeah, unfortunately." AJ said, "You could take naked pictures of me." She smirked as Punk chuckled, turning to her and realising she was being serious._

"_Seriously?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, well… it's just for us, right?" AJ shrugged with a smile, sitting up and taking her t-shirt off, "Why not?" She smirked as Punk raised his eyebrows, watching as she lay against the pillows, only wearing panties._

"_I… I don't even know how to work this." Punk laughed, taking the camera as AJ smiled._

"_I'm sure you'll figure it out." AJ smirked as Punk played around with the camera before finally figuring out how to take a picture. And he took many, many pictures of his girlfriend. He loved seeing how comfortable she was in her body around him. It was beautiful to see._

"_These are…" He looked at the pictures and smiling, speechless as AJ smiled._

"_Let me see, let me see." AJ smiled excitedly as he lay down on the bed, showing her the pictures, "Oh, wow." AJ smirked, "You know if we really wanna make money…" She teased as Punk snatched the pictures back from her._

"_These are only for my eyes." Punk made clear as AJ smiled._

"_I know." AJ smiled, "I'm just teasing." She nodded, taking the camera from him and squaring up to take a picture of him lying on the bed beside her._

"_What are you doing?" He laughed, "You're way too close." He chuckled as AJ snapped the picture, watching it develop and taking it out the bottom._

"_Hey, you look cute here." AJ smiled as Punk took the picture from her and looked at._

"_I prefer these." He looked back to the pictures of AJ as AJ scoffed, suddenly listening as her phone began to ring on the bedside table._

"_Oh, maybe that's the office job getting back to me." AJ jumped off the bed, picking up the phone as Punk looked over._

"_Yes, this is she." AJ spoke politely into the phone whilst Punk put the camera down his pants curiously, "Uh huh." AJ nodded as Punk looked over, "Oh, no that's ok. I understand." She said as Punk sighed, sitting the camera down and looking over at her, "Well thank you." AJ nodded, hanging up the phone as Punk looked at her._

"_You ok?" He asked._

"_I didn't get the job." AJ shrugged. She'd went for a lot of interviews over the past weeks and every single one had been bad news. It was hard to take it on the chin and think positively._

"_Hey, there will be more opportunities." Punk said, reaching over and taking her hands, pulling her over onto the bed as AJ sighed, collapsing down on the pillow beside him._

"_I went for six different interviews." AJ shook her head._

"_Something will come up, baby." Punk nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear as AJ sighed, feeling down as she looked at the pictures._

"_Is this your penis?" AJ tilted her head, picking up the picture he had just taken._

"_Yes." Punk nodded, "I thought it would cheer you up." He teased as AJ nodded, "We need to get a safe for all of these." He scoffed as AJ chuckled. He turned to her and noticed she looked sad. He knew it had to get her down being rejected. He could see she was really trying her best and it sucked that no one would give them a chance, "Things will work out, babe. I promise." Punk nodded._

"_It just feels like… what's the point?" AJ shrugged as Punk nodded, "I really thought someone would give me a chance, you know?" AJ sighed._

"_Someone will." Punk nodded, "Don't give up on it." He said, rubbing her arm softly as she nodded, "Come here." He said as she curled into him closer as he raised the camera over them._

"_Phil, what are you doing?" AJ shook her head._

"_Just smile or…" Punk paused, feeling her lean up and kiss his cheek as he snapped the picture, "This… in years to come… I want you to look back at this picture and remember this was when Phil told you everything would be ok." He said, taking the picture from the camera and showing it to her._

"_Oh, that's a sweet picture actually." AJ smiled._

"_You're gonna look back on this picture and think man… what was I worrying about? Everything turned out fine." Punk nodded._

"_You think so?" AJ looked at him._

"_I know so." Punk nodded as she smiled, rolling over on top of him as he smiled, "Now… time to make some videos." He smirked as AJ laughed._

"_You dork." AJ chuckled, leaning down and kissing him softly as he held her close to his body._

* * *

AJ smiled at the pictures in the box, closing it over and sliding it back under the bed as she left the room and headed through to the bathroom where Punk was bathing Thea. If only he knew back then what his fate was, and that things weren't going to turn out ok for them.

"How is she doing?" AJ smiled.

"She's fine." Punk nodded, "I know I… I asked before and you weren't up to the idea but…I'd really like to take her out." Punk said, "Even if it's just a walk in her stroller or to sit in the park and feed her." He shrugged.

"Yeah, ok." AJ nodded to him as he smiled, "I trust you enough with her and I guess I could… get more done around the apartment-"

"No, I want you to come with us." Punk shook his head.

"Phil-"

"Just as two parents taking their kid out for the day." Punk promised, "Nothing more." He said as AJ looked across at him.

"I don't mind you taking her out on your own." AJ nodded, "I don't need to be there."

"I want you to be there." Punk told her, "Come on, you said it yourself, I'm always gonna be her dad. We gotta get used to doing things together, for her." Punk said as AJ looked over at Thea and sighed.

"Just take her out on your own." AJ nodded, "Go with Dean or something. You have time with her on your own because you… you don't get that a lot." AJ said, "I'll be fine." She nodded. She was still terrified of feeling her guard drop down. Because at the end of the day, he was still the person she fell in love with, deeply, and she just couldn't fall back into that place with him again.

"I really want you to come." Punk expressed.

"You can tell me all about it." AJ assured as Punk just nodded. He figured it was worth a shot, but he was grateful enough that she was letting him have a couple hours alone with Thea. To be trusted with his daughter was a good feeling. But he knew she didn't trust him with anything else and that still hurt.

"I'm off on Friday. I can take her out then." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"That's fine with me. I'll pack her a bag." AJ nodded, "I'm gonna finish the rest of the dishes." She said, escaping the bathroom and wandering on through to the kitchen whilst Punk sighed to himself.

He really missed being with her, being able to talk to her about anything and everything. This was extremely difficult, and he was positive that it was only getting harder as time went by.


	17. Getting Complicated

**Getting Complicated**

* * *

"So like… she doesn't eat food?" Dean questioned, "Like if I gave her this hot dog she wouldn't eat it?" Dean asked Punk, sitting on a bench in the park.

"She's a baby." Punk screwed his face up with confusion, "She has milk and more milk."

"Well what do I know?" Dean shrugged, "She does look a lot like April." Dean admitted, looking on at Thea who Punk was holding just after feeding her.

Dean had taken the opportunity to get to spend some time with his niece. Punk picked Thea up from AJ and met him at the park where they were sitting, trying to entertain the three month old.

"She does." Punk agreed, "She's perfect." He smiled as Dean watched.

"You still bummed she never came?" Dean asked, finishing his hot dog whilst Thea was beginning to fall asleep in Punk's arms, "Man, that baby is lazy just like you." Dean noticed as Punk nodded.

"I mean I guess I'm over it." Punk nodded, "I'm just glad she let me take her out on my own for a couple hours." He said, "She obviously trusts me with her."

"Yeah, of course." Dean nodded, "I know you're finding it tough, buddy. You just gotta hang in there."

"It's just hard going to the apartment, where we used to be all the time, seeing how everything has changed between us." Punk said, "She says she still loves me but… it's like a sympathy love, like she has to because I'm Thea's father." He said as Dean nodded.

"She's probably still hurting." Dean nodded, "You're concentrating on Thea and that's the most important thing. April will really admire you for how much you're trying." He said as Punk nodded.

"I just wish I could go back. Back to when things started going wrong. When I lost my job and we started fighting more. She was just trying to warn me of what was gonna happen and I didn't listen-"

"And you slept with someone else." Dean added as Punk turned to him, "Just… in case you forgot-"

"We were split up-"

"Still a dick move. I don't care." Dean said bluntly, "She split up with you to try and scare you. She told you she was pregnant and that she wouldn't be with you. That she'd leave with the baby and you… you agreed to the break up and slept with someone else." Dean scoffed, "You really were a pig."

"Yeah, ok… I get it." Punk said, "I was a mess then. It was all getting too much. Everything with Rio and I was getting more involved than before… I lost myself." He said as Dean nodded.

"Well I think April did too." Dean admitted as Punk nodded.

"I just hate what I put her through." Punk said, "Every night in prison I just sat thinking about it all. How lost I was and how selfish I became." He said as Dean nodded, "I can understand why she doesn't want to be with me anymore."

"Just give it some time, man." Dean said, "Just play by her rules and be the best dad you can be. That'll mean a lot to her."

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"Those two girls keep looking over here." Dean clasped his hands together, looking over at the two young women standing over by the park, "Give me Thea."

"Huh?" Punk turned to him.

"Just… pass me her over." Dean nodded.

"She's asleep, Dean." Punk said, looking over to the girls, "You're not using my daughter to get girls." Pun spat as Dean reached over and took Thea from his arms.

"Just you shut up." Dean hummed, holding Thea as Punk shook his head.

"You're the pig." Punk concluded.

"It's working, they're coming over." Dean said excitedly as Punk shook his head.

"Oh, you have the cutest baby." One of the girls said as they both approached them, "Oh my God." She shook her head, "Is she yours?" The girl asked Dean.

"She's-" Punk began but was immediately interrupted.

"Yeah, she's mine." Dean smiled, "This is her uncle." He nodded to Punk who just nodded to the girls with a polite smile. He was going to kill his brother, "What's your names?" Dean smiled.

"I'm Lindsay, this is Rebecca." Lindsay said, "Oh, I could just eat her. She's the most adorable little thing in the world."

"Yeah, I think so too." Dean nodded.

"What's her name?" Lindsay asked, crouching down in front of Dean who smirked to himself.

"Thea." Dean nodded, "Me and her mom co-parent." He made clear as the girls smiled and nodded whilst Punk shook his head with disappointment.

"Well she's just perfect." Lindsay said, turning to Punk who was just minding his own business, "I guess as uncle… you have some free time on your hands?" She stood up, looking over at Punk.

"Yeah." Rebecca smiled, both of them looking at him whilst Dean shook his head with confusion.

"You'd be surprised." Punk chuckled.

"Are you free later?" Lindsay smiled as Punk looked up at her, turning to Rebecca who was also smiling at him.

"I'm sorry, no." Punk shook his head politely.

"Oh, well… that's too bad." Lindsay nodded, turning back to Dean who was preparing himself for an invite.

"Well it was nice meeting you." Lindsay smiled, "And the most adorable baby in the world." She said, stroking Thea's cheek whilst Rebecca smiled on, both of them eventually walking on ahead as Dean turned to Punk.

"Why do they always flock to you?" Dean asked angrily.

"That's what you get for using my kid." Punk said, "Now give me her back." He said, reaching over and taking Thea, "My poor baby, I'm sorry." He said to Thea as the baby girl continued to sleep.

"Best not tell April about that." Dean suggested.

"Oh, you think?" Punk shook his head.

"So why didn't you agree to go out with them? Are you dumb?" Dean asked.

"I'm just… I'm not interested." Punk shrugged.

"You know you're allowed to see other women, right?" Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to." Punk shrugged.

"You're dumb." Dean nodded, "Does she really just sleep like this all the time?" He questioned.

"Dean, she's a baby." Punk said, "She's not gonna start doing cartwheels." He shook his head.

"That would be pretty cool." Dean nodded to himself as Punk just rolled his eyes.

* * *

_AJ walked into the police station, wandering over to the front desk and looking around. It definitely wasn't the first she'd been in the station, but for once, she wasn't on the opposite side of the bars._

"_Miss Mendez." One of the cops walked through the side door as AJ looked over. She wasn't proud that most people knew her name in the station, "Your boyfriend is just coming." He nodded to her as AJ nodded, looking down and minding her own business as the older cop walked over to her. He went by the name of Officer Greg Hamilton._

"_I hear you two have your own apartment now." Greg looked down at her, standing a little too close as AJ stepped back a little. _

"_Yeah. So what?" AJ questioned._

"_Both unemployed." Greg nodded to himself, "Well… Phil is unemployed now." He said, "Must be tough running an apartment with no income." He said as AJ looked down, fidgeting with her hands, "Some might say… it's impossible."_

"_We have family money." AJ looked up at him as Greg nodded slowly._

"_I'm sure you do." Greg smiled just as AJ watched as Punk was brought out from the door to the cells, getting uncuffed by a cop, "Kids like you end up dead." Greg whispered to her before walking away as AJ looked over at Punk walked towards her._

"_You need to sign these." The woman at the desk said as AJ nodded, watching Punk approach her, no longer looking at him as she filled in some release papers for Punk as he stood by her like a child waiting on his mother._

"_That it?" AJ asked as the woman nodded. _

_AJ then turned and walked out of the station as Punk followed her, knowing he was in her bad books._

"_Hey, you gotta let me explain what happened-"_

"_Phone Dean the next time you need picked up from jail." AJ spat._

"_Hey, slow down and let me talk to you." Punk took her hand as she pushed him away and turned around, "Calm down." He told her._

"_Don't you think they're onto you in there? Hamilton knows we're running that apartment on some sort of illegal activity." AJ spat, "And then you go and get fired from the first job you get-"_

"_Hey, they started shit with me in that office. I had to defend myself." Punk said, "I didn't know they were gonna call the cops."_

"_Oh, I can't even look at you right now." AJ spat angrily, looking away from him._

"_I'm sorry, it was just a fight that got out of control." Punk said, "Hamilton just says shit to scare us. He's been on my mom's ass all her life and he's always on mine too-"_

"_And what if he finds something one day?" AJ questioned, "What if you get caught with Rio? You go to prison, Phil." AJ reminded him._

"_This shit again? Really?" Punk questioned, "It's like you got dementia. Keep bringing up the same shit over and over again. One minute you're fine with it, you're grateful for Rio and any money we can get… next you want me to drop it all-"_

"_Well I don't know what I'm doing anymore!" AJ admitted loudly as Punk looked across at her._

"_I drop things with Rio and me and you are back to living in motels and other people's houses. Is that what you want?" Punk asked._

"_Gosh, this isn't even about Rio. This is about you." AJ said, "What even happened at work? What did you do?"_

"_You're just assuming I did something?" Punk questioned._

"_Well you obviously did." AJ said as Punk ran his hand through his hair._

"_I just butted heads with a colleague." Punk said, "I didn't even want that job. We did fine without it-"_

"_Oh, it's my fault then?" AJ nodded._

"_I didn't say that." Punk said, "You're overreacting." He nodded._

"_No, I don't think I am, Phil." AJ shook her head, "We're supposed to be growing up. Bettering ourselves. Finding our feet and I… I feel like my feet are never on the ground." She said._

"_Sounds like your problem, not mine." Punk shrugged as AJ slapped him hard across the face. She'd never raised her hands at him before, but something about his childishness had made her snap._

_Punk rubbed his cheek, turning to her angrily as she looked up at him._

"_I am not spending my whole life covering for you, picking you up from jail and bandaging up your stab wounds." AJ made clear as Punk looked at her, "I am not turning into my mom."_

"_You're not your mom." Punk said._

"_Well recently I feel like it." AJ admitted, "You're working more and more with Rio and you're gonna get yourself hurt or put in prison." She said._

"_No, I won't." Punk rolled his eyes._

"_You are." AJ said, "My family knew him as a friend to go to in case of an emergency. They never worked for him because they knew the dangers of it. Coming from my family, my stupid family, that says a lot." AJ said, "And you're out almost every night with him. That terrifies me-"_

"_And you suddenly have a problem with it? After all these months of living in the apartment, which his money is helping us rent?" He said._

"_Well I don't know, maybe picking you up from jail puts a lot into perspective." AJ spat, "Maybe seeing you come home with a bloody face puts it into perspective." She said, "You need to end it. Before it ends you."_

"_I'm not ending it, April." Punk shook his head, "We need the money. You know it makes our life easier. You love the apartment. It's actually a place we can call home. It's a place just for us." He said, "Rio wouldn't put me in danger-"_

"_I know he wouldn't, but other people out there might. The cops could be watching us for all we know." AJ said as Punk scoffed._

"_You're being ridiculous." Punk said._

"_Of course I am." AJ nodded, "You're gonna ruin all of this-"_

"_I don't even wanna talk to you right now." Punk shook his head._

"_You know I should have just left your ass in there." AJ spat as Punk shook his head whilst walking away down the street in the opposite direction from her as she placed her hands in her hair. She hated fighting with him, but she couldn't ignore the reality of everything going on._

_She watched as Greg walked out of the station, smiling over to her as she ran her hands through her hair and sighed to herself._


	18. Falling Apart

**Falling Apart**

* * *

"_You didn't come home last night." AJ said, walking into their kitchen where she saw Punk sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. He hadn't come home all night after their fight outside the police station. When she heard the door open this morning she knew it would be him._

"_You're right, I didn't." Punk said, more interested in his cereal as AJ pushed it off the table as it spilled everywhere, "I was eating that." Punk said calmly, putting his spoon down._

"_I don't care." AJ said, "I was worried. I thought you would have come back."_

"_To listen to you yell at me some more?" Punk shook his head._

"_Where'd you go?" AJ asked him._

"_Rio's." Punk said as AJ nodded._

"_Of course you did." AJ said as Punk looked over at her._

"_Why are you suddenly on my ass about this?" Punk shook his head, "I got carried away in a fight at my job and now all of a sudden you're terrified?"_

"_You got fired and arrested." AJ scoffed._

"_Yeah… carried away." Punk confirmed._

"_It's just becoming a little too scary, that's all. Seeing you come home all beaten up the other night… that scared me. I don't want that for you. For us." AJ said, "We can get out whilst we're still young-"_

"_And do what, April? I get out of working with Rio and we lose this place. We are back on the streets or living in motels." He said, "Is that what you want?" He asked her as she folded her arms._

"_What I want is for you to be safe and understand that I'm allowed to be uspet and worried about this." AJ said, "Every time I see a cop, I feel guilty. I don't want to feel that all my life and I know you don't-"_

"_What did Hamilton say to you yesterday?" He questioned._

"_He didn't say anything." AJ scoffed, "But he could be on your ass at any time and not only do I lose this apartment, but I lose you. And I don't think I could ever deal with that." AJ said._

"_You aren't going to lose me, baby." Punk stood up, stepping on the cereal and rolling his eyes as AJ cringed, "There's been some blips in the way recently but Rio does things… professionally." He said, "What happened to no matter what? I don't wanna lose this place with you-"_

"_I don't either, I just wish there was another way." AJ shook her head as Punk sighed._

"_We're gonna be ok. I promise you." He tucked her hair behind her ear as AJ sighed to herself. _

"_Why do I feel like we're not gonna be ok?" AJ whispered, "This is going to take over your life, Phil." She looked up at him. She couldn't hold back anymore. She felt guilty for letting it go this far. She was so caught up in having her own home, having all these beautiful things that neither of them had the luxury of before, getting lost in their very real love… that she was just now seeing what dangers they were putting themselves in._

"_It's not." Punk promised, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Me and you are gonna be fine. I've got you for life. I'd never let anything happen to you, or us, or this place." He said as AJ nodded._

"_I believe you." AJ whispered as he nodded._

"_I promise you, I won't let you down." He said as she looked into his eyes. His promises meant the whole world to her, because she believed them and she lived by them. _

_She nodded, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he hugged her back, kissing her head as she sighed to herself. _

* * *

_Later that night, Punk had fallen asleep in their bed. She could see how exhausted he was from staying up all through the night, so she left him sleeping and headed out of the apartment._

_She took a bus further into town where she used to live, getting off at the stop not far from the house she used to live in. She walked down the street and kept her head down until finding the apartment she was looking for._

_She rang the buzzer, asking to be let in as the door was immediately opened up for her. She walked into the block and headed up to the apartment, knocking on the door and waiting nervously._

"_Ree! It's the little Mendez." A man answered up the door as AJ stood nervously looking on, "She allowed in?" He asked, smiling at AJ who glared back._

"_Of course!" A man called out as AJ walked into the apartment, keeping her senses aware of everything around her, walking down the apartment and into the kitchen where Rio sat having a cigarette._

"_Hey." AJ said as Rio smiled._

"_Hi, sweetheart." Rio nodded to her, tapping his cigarette over the ash tray as AJ looked across at him._

_She wasn't scared of him. He wasn't a scary person. He was in his mid-twenties, covered in tattoos from Cuban descent. He was a family friend of hers and she very much trusted him. That was why she had come._

"_I… I want to talk to you." AJ walked further into the kitchen as Rio nodded, looking up at her._

"_Sit." Rio kicked out the chair for her as AJ took a seat, "What's wrong?"_

"_Is there any way you can… let Phil go?" AJ asked him as Rio sat up with a curious smile, gazing over at her. _

"_Tell me why I'd do that?" Rio smiled. _

"_It's just… it's taking over his life and we… we appreciate everything you've helped us with, we do… but he's becoming obsessed with all of this. I'm just worried, that's all." AJ nodded._

"_Phil is one of my good friends, April. I trust him. I trust him a whole lot." Rio nodded, "The only way he gets out is if he wants out." Rio nodded, "It's gotta be his decision-"_

"_And can't you have an impact on that?" AJ questioned as Rio looked across at her with a smile._

"_What do you think the world has to offer bottom feeders like you and Phil?" Rio asked as AJ raised her eyebrows, "And that's not an insult. We're all bottom feeders." Rio nodded, "This is how we get by. Phil is smart enough to have realised that." He said, "Phil gets out of this and you're on the streets." Rio scoffed as AJ looked across at him._

"_Please, I'm asking you for help-"_

"_Because I haven't done enough?" Rio laughed a little._

"_No, I just…" She looked down at her stomach as Rio watched her._

"_What?" Rio shook his head, "You just what?" He asked._

"_I'm worried, that's all." AJ said, "I saw what sort of things happened to my parents when they worked for you. My dad went to prison for 2 years. My mom has literally gone crazy." AJ shook her head, "I just want Phil out of it."_

"_To do what exactly?" Rio smiled._

"_I don't know, get real jobs." AJ shrugged as Rio turned to some of his friends in the room, laughing to themselves as AJ looked at them._

"_Don't you see what the problem is here?" Rio asked her as AJ looked at him, "Phil… likes this." Rio said slowly as AJ looked at him, "He enjoys working for me. That's where your problem is." Rio nodded as AJ ran her hands through her hair. She figured that was the problem. She'd watched her boyfriend slowly get lost in this world, and she felt guilty for not realising sooner._

"_What do I do?" AJ asked him._

"_You let him work for me." Rio nodded bluntly as AJ looked across at him, "You don't have to be scared. I look out for him." Rio said, "I wouldn't let anything bad happen to him." He nodded as AJ looked at him._

_AJ then stood up from the table and nodded, "I'll go." She said. She figured there was nothing else this man could really do. She didn't want to interfere any more with him than she already had._

"_Tell me how the hospital appointment goes." Rio nodded as AJ paused, turning to him as Rio smiled, "Pregnant women carry themselves differently, especially when they're scared." He said as AJ looked across at him, "Congratulations." He nodded as AJ turned back around and quickly left the apartment. _

* * *

_AJ got home later that night, walking in the apartment and heading through to the bedroom where Punk was still sleeping. She lay down on the bed beside him, waking him up in the process as Punk adjusted his eyes, turning around to her._

"_Hey… where… where did you go?" Punk asked her, turning around and curling into her as she leaned forward and kissed his head._

"_I just popped out to the store." AJ said as Punk nodded sleepily._

"_I'm sorry I've scared you." He whispered as AJ looked at him, "You deserve better than this." He whispered sleepily, falling back asleep as AJ watched him._

"_Phil." AJ said as he opened his eyes back up, "Are you happy?" She wondered._

"_Of course I'm happy." Punk said, "As long as I have you. I'm happy." He smiled to her as she smiled back. That saying had become their downfall. Because having each other was distracting themselves from the reality they were living in. _

"_We can be better than this." AJ whispered, playing with his hair, looking into his eyes as Punk looked at her._

"_What happened to living in the moment?" Punk asked her as AJ looked at him, "I'm always gonna take care of you. That's never going to be a problem." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear as AJ nodded._

"_I don't doubt any of that." AJ nodded. She wasn't really sure what else to say. Rio's words were haunting her regarding the fact that the only person that could stop Punk, was himself, and listening to her boyfriend, it was like listening to a drug addict who promised one day in the future he would get clean, only to be waiting forever on that day._

"_I'm so tired." Punk whispered to her, closing his eyes back over as AJ watched him, cupping his cheek and sighing to herself. She couldn't turn a blind eye anymore. _

_She watched him as he slept, taking her hand and placing it over her stomach. It wasn't sinking in. She'd only known for a few days and it still felt like a dream… or a nightmare. She wasn't in any right mind to think about the fact she was actually pregnant. _


	19. Over

**Over**

* * *

"Hey, we made it all the way up the stairs and you're still sleeping." Punk smiled, looking in the stroller where Thea was still fast asleep. It had been so nice to go out with Thea, to have some time with her and his brother. He only wished AJ had come with them. He worried about her in the apartment so much on her own.

"Ok, let's get you inside." Punk spoke to himself, knocking on the apartment door and waiting for AJ to answer, "You think it'd be rude to just walk in?" He asked Thea, watching her sleep, "I did used to live here, I'll have you know." He nodded to her.

After AJ not answering, he tried opening the door which hadn't been locked. He pushed the stroller in and scooped Thea out of the stroller into his arms. He loved holding her in his arms. She was the perfect little bundle.

He walked into the bedroom and put her down in her crib before searching for AJ in the apartment, eventually finding her in the living room where she was fast asleep on the couch.

He paused at the door, looking over at her exhaustedly sleeping on the couch in the very bare living room. He was so in love with her that he couldn't even imagine the possibility of them not ending up together again. It terrified him.

He walked into the living room, spotting the blanket at the bottom of the couch and grabbing it to put over her. He shook the blanket over her body, making sure it covered all of her.

He then crouched down and placed a kiss on her head, sweeping her hair from her head.

AJ opened up her eyes, the first thing she saw was his face so close and she immediately screamed with fright, jumping up, equally giving Punk a fright as he began screaming, stepping back and falling over one of Thea's toys, falling onto his back as AJ placed her hands over her mouth.

"Oh my God, Phil…. I'm sorry." She laughed a little, getting off the couch and helping him up as he laughed to himself.

"I didn't think I was that scary." Punk admitted.

"Sorry, I just… I got a fright." AJ shook her head as Punk nodded, "Where is Thea?"

"I put her into her crib-"

"You got her to stay asleep coming up the stairs?" AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Y-Yeah… why?" Punk shook his head.

"Nothing, just… she normally wakes up." AJ nodded, knowing it was because she mostly struggled getting the stroller up all of the stairs, "So how was it? Did you go with Dean?" She asked him, trying to fix her hair, feeling like she was still half asleep.

"It was nice." Punk nodded, "Good to get out and get some fresh air. And she's nosey." He said.

"She is." AJ agreed, "Always watching people when we're on the bus if I've been feeding her." AJ nodded, "Well I'm glad it went well." She said as Punk nodded.

"Maybe next time you could come with us." Punk suggested as AJ looked up at him.

"Maybe." She said, unconvinced as Punk nodded.

"I'll get going," Punk announced. He just couldn't help feel unwelcomed around her, like she desperately wanted him to leave the first chance he got. That hurt him a lot.

"Thanks for taking her today. I don't normally get this sort of help." AJ nodded.

"I'm her father. Don't… don't thank me for just… doing what I should be doing." He said as AJ nodded with a small smile, "I'll see you tomorrow." He waved his hand low as AJ nodded, watching him walk out of the living room, leaving the apartment.

* * *

"_You told Rio to drop me?!" Punk yelled, bursting through the bedroom door where AJ was sitting on the bed, looking up at him, "Are you kidding me?"_

"_Phil, just-"_

"_No, what the hell, April?" Punk shook his head as AJ sighed to herself. She wasn't sure she had the energy for these types of fights any more, "He told me you came and asked him to let me go." _

"_Yeah, I did." AJ nodded honestly._

"_He lets me go and we are back on the streets." Punk shook his head, "W-What… what part of that aren't you getting? You had no right to do that-"_

"_I have no right to be concerned about you and how sick you're getting with all of this?" AJ questioned._

"_Sick?" Punk shook his head._

"_You're obsessed. You're out every single night. This start off as an emergency, Phil. When we were on the streets, you did an odd job for him and he gave you cash in hand for it so we could buy a pizza for a dinner and a motel for the night." AJ said, "That's where it was supposed to end-"_

"_I-I can't figure you out anymore. I really can't." Punk placed his hand on his forehead stressfully, "You were fine with this a few weeks ago. You had no problem-"_

"_Yeah, well maybe I just don't want to live this way anymore. I don't want to feel guilty about having nice things. I don't want to feel disgusted when I buy myself something because I know where the money is coming from." She said._

"_Why you gotta think into it so much? Money is money… you were the one who said to me you didn't care where it came from-"_

"_Well I do." AJ snapped, "I do care. And you know what else I care about? You." She said, "You are losing yourself to all of this and you aren't even realising it." She shook her head as Punk looked at her._

"_I'm losing myself?" Punk scoffed._

"_Yes, Phil. You're losing yourself. I feel like I'm losing you." AJ said._

"_No, April… you know what's happening here? You're pushing me away." Punk nodded._

"_No… no, I'm not." AJ shook her head, "I'm trying to help you." She said, "You are going to end up dead or in prison. And I don't wanna live my life waiting on that. Living in fear the entire time that something is going to happen to you." She spat as Punk groaned to himself, putting his hands over his face and muffling through them._

"_This… this is too hard-"_

"_I'm pregnant." AJ stood up as Punk dropped his hands from his face._

"_What?" Punk shook his head._

"_I'm pregnant." AJ nodded, "I… I don't know how far or…" She gulped, watching him look at her funnily, "I guess I'm gonna have a baby." She put her hands up cluelessly as Punk laughed a little._

"_N-No… no, you're just… this is just a joke, right?" Punk nodded, "You're just scaring me." Punk figured._

"_Phil, I'm pregnant." AJ nodded, "I have to go to the hospital tomorrow for an appointment with an OB." She said, very much not kidding him on, "I'm not joking." She said seriously as Punk looked across at her._

"_You're pregnant?" He shook his head as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah." AJ said as Punk looked across at her, "And I can't… I'm not doing this to my kid, I'm not putting anyone through what I went through as a kid."_

"_I'm gonna need to work more with Rio." Punk ran his hands through his hair as AJ tilted her head._

"_You what?" AJ looked at him in shock. She felt like she was talking to a brick wall._

"_We're gonna need more money." Punk nodded to himself._

"_Phil, are you listening to me?" AJ shook her head, "I don't want there to be a Rio anymore. That's it." She said, "I'm not doing this anymore." She shook her head as Punk looked at her with confusion._

"_Well where do you think we're gonna get money for a baby?" Punk asked her, "You wanna try going for more job interviews, even though I think you've went for most of them in the entire city." He said coldly as AJ screwed her face up with anger, "I'm sure I'll get one, what with the recent firing I just got." He said sarcastically, "Don't you get it? It's not realistic-"_

"_You're just seeing things the way you want to see them." AJ nodded calmly, "It's not realistic because you don't want it to be. Because you enjoy working for Rio." She said as Punk looked at her._

"_I wouldn't say I… I enjoy it…" Punk thought to himself._

"_You do." AJ nodded, "You enjoy it. And that doesn't make me scared for you, that makes me scared of you." AJ admitted as Punk shook his head, "I can't do this with you anymore. I won't do this with you." She shook her head._

"_What?" Punk shook his head, "What the hell are you saying right now?"_

"_I'm saying you make a choice." AJ shrugged, "Me and this baby, or Rio and the money."_

"_You can't make me do that." Punk shook his head._

"_It shouldn't even be a hard decision." AJ admitted tearfully, realising then and there that he was completely wrapped up in working for Rio. Because the Phil she knew wouldn't have put anything before her. And she was pretty sure he wasn't even taking in the news that she was actually pregnant with his child._

"_It's how we get by-"_

"_No, it's a choice. It's how we choose to get by. I want to be better than this. I want better." AJ said._

"_I tell you what then… why don't you go find yourself better." Punk nodded to her._

"_You'd let me walk out that door?" AJ questioned. _

"_Well clearly it's what you want-"_

"_I want us. I want it to be me and you again but I can't watch you get hurt and put yourself at risk anymore." AJ shook her head, "And if you find it so hard to pick between me and Rio… then that's all I need to know." She nodded as Punk placed his hands on his hips and looked across at her._

"_You really wanna make it this hard for us?" Punk asked._

"_I'm trying to help you." AJ cried as Punk watched her dry her flowing tears, "I'm worried about you-"_

"_I'm fine." Punk shook his head, "You have nothing to worry about-"_

"_You've became so blind to all of this." AJ shook her head, "And I… I just can't." She said, "I can't do it anymore."_

"_Are you seriously breaking up with me?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah. I am." AJ cried as Punk watched her reach for her jacket, tears continuously running down her cheeks._

"_April." Punk shook his head, "This is so stupid-"_

"_It's not just about me anymore." AJ shook her head, "I have to do better." She gulped, drying her tears._

"_Ape, come on." Punk shook his head, pulling her into him, "Come on, what the hell are you saying? Why are you doing this?" He begged to know as AJ cried into her hands, "Come on." He cupped her cheeks as she cried._

"_I have to go." AJ cried as he held onto her hands._

"_Please don't do this-"_

"_You're doing this. This is you who is doing this." AJ warned him. She wanted him to know that. Her heart was breaking right in front of him and he was still so consumed to not be able to make things right. _

"_April." Punk shook his head, feeling her rip her hands away from him, picking her backpack up and leaving the apartment as he stumbled over to the bed and sat down, placing his hands over his mouth, in shock and disbelief. He felt numb. He didn't feel anything at all._

* * *

_AJ had left the apartment and wandered around town crying for the most part. She felt so hopelessly lost and heartbroken. She never wanted it to come to this. _

_She headed into a cheap diner on the corner of a road, ordering a milkshake and sitting down in one of the booths. All she had was her backpack which had her teddy bear, some cash and tampons, which she had to laugh about having in there given her current situation._

_She barely touched her milkshake and just sat in the pretty empty diner. She couldn't believe it was coming to this. She was in shock. He was such a good person. She knew he was. So kind, so caring and considerate. She felt like she'd watched him slowly lose all of those qualities over the past few months. She felt like she'd watched him lose himself._

_She sat twiddling her thumbs, thinking about going back to the apartment when she saw someone approach her booth, looking up and noticing it was Greg, still in uniform._

"_What? What is it?" AJ asked with attitude. She was in no mood. No one could possibly make her feel any worse than what she already did, "I paid, ok? I paid for this milkshake. Ask the woman over there." She pointed as Greg nodded._

"_Are you ok?" He wondered, sliding into the booth across from her as she looked at him._

"_I'm great." AJ nodded sarcastically as he looked at her._

"_You know cops aren't dumb right?" Greg asked as AJ looked across at him, "You both don't have jobs. You're not claiming unemployment. And don't bullshit me with the whole… my family has money story because you're a Mendez and he's a Brooks. Y'all don't have money." He said rudely as AJ looked across at him._

"_What are you trying to say to me?" AJ asked tiredly. She really was in no mood for this._

"_I'm saying…" Greg paused, looking across at her and noticing the stress on her face, "If you ever want to talk, if there's ever something you'd like to tell me… I can arrange that." Greg nodded, "And I can even pretend that you have nothing to do with it." He said as AJ shook her head. Knowing what he was getting at._

"_You can get lost." AJ spat, "And leave me the hell alone." She told him harshly as Greg nodded._

"_Suit yourself." Greg nodded, standing up, "Living with a huge weight on your shoulders can really start to get you down." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder as he walked on by as AJ placed her hands in her hair._


	20. Moment Of Anger

**Moment Of Anger**

* * *

_AJ wandered around town for a while. She had no idea what to do with herself. She didn't know if it was best to go check into a motel for the night and leave Punk alone to cool off. There was a lot going on, and it was hard to take in that she had actually just broken up with him._

_She was hurt that he wasn't even fighting for them. Hurt that he'd let her walk out the door, especially when she had told him she was having his baby. She was so heartbroken by the outcome of their fight and she just hated being without him._

_She decided she wanted to go back to the apartment and talk to him. She hated leaving things like this and wanted to talk to him. She was also a little spooked by Greg and the way he seemed to be coming into her space an awful lot. _

_She headed back to the apartment, thinking to herself just how lost she would be without her boyfriend, because he wasn't just her boyfriend, he was her best friend, someone she had an instant connection with. Her first everything. The love of her life. The father of her baby. She'd never stop wanting to help him, and right now, he needed help._

_She got to the apartment and opened up the door, walking on in with her backpack which she sat down._

"_Phil?" AJ called softly. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying. She hated that she'd wound up back here, but she didn't want to give up on them, she desperately wanted them to work this out. She desperately wanted to help him._

_She wandered down the hallway and opened up their bedroom door, pausing as she didn't quite understand how to take in the sight she was seeing. Another girl in bed with who she thought could have still been her boyfriend._

"_A-April." Punk noticed, his heart stinking as he came to his senses, being brought out of the bubble he'd foolishly put himself inside._

_AJ just stared at the sight, watching as he got out the bed and put his boxers on whilst the girl lay covering herself. If her heart wasn't broken before, it was definitely now broken in half. She felt like she couldn't even breathe._

_She turned around speechless, stumbling back out of the bedroom and heading for the door._

"_April, please wait." Punk ran out of the bedroom as AJ paused, turning around and looking at him. She now no longer saw the man she fell in love with. Because he… he would never have done this to her._

_She couldn't even find it in her to cry about it. She was just in total shock that the one person in the whole world who knew her the most, the one person who knew all of her mistakes, all of her secrets, the one person who she thought loved her… had done this to her._

"_I hate you." AJ realised in that moment as Punk placed his hands in his hair and looked across at her. He'd never saw her look the way she looked right now. And he hated himself._

"_I hate you." AJ shook her head to herself, walking out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her._

* * *

"Daddy's going for some more tattoos tomorrow." Punk said, lying on the floor in the living room with Thea as he watched her on her little mat. She had so much fun just gazing up at the little toys hanging above her, wriggling her little legs and making the cutest baby noises. He literally could have watched her all day, "And maybe he'll get a Thea tattoo." He thought to himself.

"You'd really do that?" AJ asked, sitting on the couch reading one of her books. Whenever Punk came to visit, she let him have his own time with Thea and tried to pretend she wasn't there. She wasn't trying to be rude, she just wanted to give him that time with Thea.

"Yeah, why not?" Punk smiled.

"You have plenty of tattoos." AJ shook her head.

"Oh, I'm going in for the full chest piece." Punk told her, "Start work on it tomorrow. I've got all the artwork for it finished but maybe I could fit in a little something for her." He said, watching Thea with a smile, "Hey, what's the meaning of her name? Do you know?"

"Yeah. I had a big book of baby names and they had all their meanings. It's Greek and it means goddess." AJ smiled to herself, "Because my baby is nothing short of that." She hummed to herself as Punk smiled.

"Goddess, huh?" Punk smiled, "I can work with that." He nodded.

"How long will it take for you to get it all finished?" AJ asked him.

"Oh, a couple weeks at least." Punk nodded, "Gotta do all the outline and then there's the fillers I need all the way up my arms." He said as AJ nodded, "Thinking of getting rid of the blonde too."

"Why?" AJ laughed.

"I just fancy a change." Punk shrugged, looking over at her as she shook her head, "What? Is someone gonna miss my blonde hair?" He smiled.

"No." AJ scoffed, keeping her eyes on her book and flicking the page.

"How come you still look sixteen and I look thirty?" Punk asked.

"Prison will do that to you." AJ smirked as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Punk said as AJ looked over at him over her book.

"What was it like?" She asked curiously, watching Punk playing with Thea's hand.

"What was prison like?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded, "I guess just what you'd expect. Strict. Scary. Lonely." He said as AJ nodded.

"Did you… see anything?" AJ asked.

"Saw a lot of fights but… it's not like I'd never seen a fight before." He laughed, "Couple guys took their lives. There was one stabbing when I was in and one riot." He nodded as AJ raised her eyebrows, "The thing that killed the most was just… being shut out from the outside. Not knowing what was going on." He said.

"What was going on with me you mean?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, maybe." Punk nodded, standing up and sitting down on the couch beside her, "How'd you manage to keep this place running?" He asked.

"I got a job. And then when I got too big to work I just claimed unemployment, I also get child benefits for Thea." She said as Punk nodded, "There's no disposable income at the end of the month but… as long as we got a roof over our heads, I really don't care." AJ nodded, "She's fed and she's clean and she's… well I think she's happy." AJ shrugged as Punk turned over to Thea who was smiling up at her toys spinning around above her.

"I'd say so." Punk smiled, "You're amazing." He nodded, turning around to her as AJ looked across at him, "To do this on your own. You're an amazing mom." He nodded. It wasn't hard to see how much she care for Thea and how well looked after the baby girl was.

"Well I'm glad you think so." AJ nodded, "You're doing not so bad yourself." She said as Punk smiled.

"I still can't believe it." Punk admitted, "I didn't think I'd be a dad at twenty one." He shook his head.

"Yeah, you and me both, buddy." AJ scoffed as Punk smiled.

"Even when you told me, I… I just never believed it. I couldn't believe it-"

"You didn't want to believe it." AJ corrected as Punk turned to her.

"Yeah well I was a mess back then." Punk thought to himself, "It's all sort of a blur because of how messed up my head was."

"Lucky you." AJ said, flicking the page of her book aggressively, "I remember every second of it." She smiled as Punk nodded.

"You'll never know how sorry I am." Punk shook his head as AJ looked at him, "I just… I got so wrapped up with the money and… the thrill of it all-"

"Wrapped up inside another woman too." AJ said, flicking the page of her book.

"You're not even reading that book." Punk shook his head with confusion as AJ looked at him, "Yeah, about that-"

"We shouldn't talk about it actually." AJ realised, closing the book over.

"I think we should." Punk said, "I messed up, big time. I'm not gonna throw excuses at you and say… oh, I thought we'd broken up. Because that doesn't matter. I think about how I would have felt in your shoes, if I came home and… and I saw you with someone else… I know I'd be devastated, and heartbroken."

"Only difference is, I didn't do that. Because I wouldn't have done that to you." AJ made clear as Punk nodded.

"I was a dick." Punk nodded, "And I was lost and confused. But I got my karma." He said, "And prison really helped me. I hated it, of course, but it opened my eyes to everything I don't wanna be. Everything I know I can't be. Especially not when I have a kid now." He said as AJ looked across at him.

"I just wish you had listened to me." AJ said, "I thought you would have."

"I'm sorry." He nodded as AJ just nodded, listening as Thea began to cry a little, "Hey, what are you saying?" Punk turned around, lifting Thea up into his arms as AJ watched. It was such a dream to see him holding Thea. Even though she was so hurt by him, she still needed him by her side, she still wanted him here to be with Thea and to see him father her child. But she just felt like old wounds weren't healing.

* * *

_AJ could barely see for most of the time she was walking the streets due to the tears that kept coming. Once she had left the apartment in shock, it began to sink in what she had just witnessed and the tears came flooding out._

_She'd never been hurt so badly before, and she didn't think he would be the one to ever hurt her. She was angry, frustrated and confused. So much so that she found herself walking into the police station, a place she tried to avoid at all costs._

_She walked up to the front desk, wiping her eyes as the woman looked over at her._

"_Honey, are you ok?" She asked politely as AJ nodded, trying to think of something to say, "Do you need to speak to someone?" The woman asked as AJ nodded._

"_No." She changed her mind, "No… I just…" She paused, watching as Greg appeared from a door, noticing her as she put her head down._

"_April." Greg walked over to her, "Still crying?" He asked, taking advantage of her emotional state, "Is there something you need help with?" He asked her as AJ looked at him._

_She just kept picturing it. The love of her life in bed with someone else. In their bed. Whilst she was carrying his child and trying to protect him from his own self. She wasn't sure why she deserved this sort of heartbreak. She was mad. Mad at the world. _

"_I want to talk to you." AJ nodded, drying her tears as Greg nodded slowly._

"_Ok." Greg nodded, "You do?"_

"_Yes." AJ said, "Yes, I'll talk." AJ nodded._

"_Come this way." Greg smiled, placing his arm around her shoulder and guiding her through to a room in the back._


	21. A Deal

**A Deal**

* * *

"_Miss Mendez." A nurse called whilst AJ sat in the waiting room at the hospital._

_She didn't hear her. She was lost in her own head, in her own world. Barely functioning._

"_Miss Mendez." A nurse said a little louder as AJ eventually looked up._

"_Oh, sorry." AJ shook her head, getting to her feet and walking over to the nurse who smiled, directing her into the room for her appointment._

"_Just take a seat on the bed there, sweetheart." The nurse nodded as AJ walked over to the bed and took a seat, "Here is a gown for you to go get changed into. The bathroom is just through that door." She said, handing AJ the hospital gown over, "Have you been feeling well today?"_

"_Yeah." AJ nodded. Definite well, she secretly thought._

"_And this is your first OB appointment, right?" The nurse asked as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, this is my first. All I've done is take thirteen pregnancy tests." AJ shrugged._

"_Thirteen, huh?" The nurse smiled as AJ nodded nervously, "Well go pop that on and we'll take a look at things." She nodded comfortingly as AJ nodded, getting off the bed and wandering through to the bathroom to get changed._

_She then reappeared and got sat up on the bed. She was terrified of all of this. It just made it more apparent that she was pregnant. She was given the internal examination, watching the screen beside her as the nurse got a clear image of the baby._

"_You doing ok there?" The nurse smiled as AJ nodded, leaning her head back on the bed._

"_Little uncomfortable." AJ admitted._

"_I know, it won't take much longer." The nurse assured her, looking on at the image of the baby, "Well here you go. That's your baby." She nodded as AJ looked up, staring on at the screen. She couldn't understand how something so small was going to be such a huge part of her life. She was so overwhelmed. So alone. She didn't know how to take any of this in._

"_How… How far along am I?" AJ questioned._

"_By my examine you're approximately seven weeks." She nodded as AJ took a deep breath and nodded._

"_How… How long do I have to… to decide on anything?" AJ asked as the nurse looked at her._

"_The state allows abortions up to twenty four weeks." The nurse said as AJ nodded._

"_Where… where do I go to have one?" AJ asked._

"_I can refer you to a clinic." The nurse nodded, "You can take some time to think about it-"_

"_Could you just refer me, please?" AJ asked as the nurse nodded._

"_Of course." She said, "I'll be back in a minute." She nodded, leaving the room as AJ rested her head back on the bed. _

_Her heart was racing at the thought of being on her own with this baby. She couldn't live her life, her unpredictable, unstable life with a child involved in it, and it wasn't like she was going to get help. She could see no good reason to have this child. She believed this was the smartest decision she could make. _

* * *

"I thought you were going for your tattoos today." AJ shook her head, walking into the living room where she handed Punk a bottle for Thea as he began feeding her.

"I did." Punk said, "I'm all wrapped up under my t-shirt." He said as AJ nodded.

"Painful?" AJ asked him.

"Not too bad. It was just the outlines today. It's the shading in that really gets painful." He nodded, "What did you get up to today?" He questioned. His favourite part of every day now, was getting to come hang out with his daughter. His mood, whatever it was, was immediately lifted when he saw Thea. It was amazing.

"I had to go pay the electricity bill." AJ nodded, "And go to the store. Exciting." She said sarcastically as Punk nodded, looking down at Thea.

"Hey, when do you reckon that I could… I could have her for the night?" Punk asked, looking up at AJ who looked across at him.

"Like… a full night? Until morning?" AJ questioned as Punk nodded, "You don't have anything at your place." She pointed out.

"Well I could bring her things with me. She could just sleep beside me. I can make her a little makeshift crib-"

"She could fall off." AJ shook her head, "Or you could roll over on her." She rolled her eyes.

"Then I'll buy a crib for my room." Punk said as AJ looked at him. She could see he really wanted to get more time with Thea, and of course she wanted to give him it. She just wasn't sure what she'd do with herself on her own.

"Are you sure you really want that?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah, of course." Punk said, "Come on, I'm her dad. I wanna see her as much as you do." He nodded as AJ looked across at him. She wasn't surprised at how he was with Thea, but she was a little taken back by just how good he was with her and how much love he was showing for her every day. It really put her at ease, but it also scared her, because the more she saw him with her, the more she remembered the man she fell in love with, the man she was still in love with.

"You would have to buy a crib." AJ nodded.

"Ok, I will." Punk said.

"Does Dean still smoke?" AJ questioned as Punk looked over at her.

"No." He scoffed nervously as AJ folded her arms, "Ok, yes… but, I'll get him to do it outside. I promise." He nodded, "I really wanna do this… and it means you get a break too, you could go…" He paused, wondering what she would get up to, "Go… shopping?" He tried as AJ chuckled to herself at the thought, "I don't know, you can just have a break." He nodded.

"Well thank you." AJ nodded, "I appreciate you actually wanting to do this. It doesn't seem forced." She said as Punk nodded.

"It's not, trust me." Punk said, "I just… I wanna prove to you that I'm not that guy anymore. That guy that fucked up and lost it all." He said as AJ nodded, looking over at him. It was scary that she could totally see he wasn't that guy. He wasn't that selfish, confused, troubled man she remembered when they last saw each other. He was the man she fell in love with. That was a slight problem.

"Don't prove to me. Just… do good." AJ nodded, "How about this weekend? You can come over Saturday and pick her up." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great." Punk smiled, "Seriously though, what are you gonna get up to?" He said.

"I don't know. I'm gonna be really lost without her." AJ laughed a little as Punk smiled.

"Don't worry, I will return her." Punk nodded as AJ smiled a little, "So… I don't mean to be all in your business but… Dean mentioned about Rio kicking down your door not long ago-"

"We don't have to talk about this." AJ said immediately.

"Well… we do, actually. You might not wanna associate with me. You might not feel like I have a right to care about you but I still do." He said, "And also my daughter lives here so… I gotta know these things. He nodded as AJ looked across at him.

"It wasn't Rio personally, it was some of his friends I think." AJ nodded.

"Basically the same thing." Punk said, "What did they say to you?" He asked as AJ looked at him nervously.

"N-Nothing, well… it was about my family." She said quickly. She didn't like to lie, but there was times where she felt like she had to.

"I thought your family moved back to Puerto Rico?" Punk questioned.

"Yeah, they did. That's what it was about. It wasn't anything to do with you or me really." AJ nodded as Punk watched her.

"You know that I… I know when you're lying." Punk smiled to her, "I mean I'm pretty sure I was the one who taught you to lie." He said as AJ looked at him.

"I'm not lying." AJ laughed, "That's what happened." AJ said, "It's in the past now and they're gone." She shrugged, "What does it matter?"

"Well I just want you to be safe here." Punk said.

"I am." AJ nodded.

"How long have your parents been gone?" Punk asked.

"Not just my parents… my entire family." AJ smiled to herself, "Not long after you went to prison." She nodded.

"Why'd they leave?" Punk shook his head.

"I don't know. Probably got themselves in trouble." AJ said, "My brother came to the apartment to tell me. He obviously saw I was pregnant, must have told my dad who then came to see me." She said, "At first I thought he was coming to offer me advice or invite me with them but… I just got yelled at for getting knocked up." She shrugged, "And he also said if he sees you again he's going to… his exact words, rip out your eyes and make you eat them." She said as Punk nodded slowly.

"That's… nice." Punk nodded, "Is there any way we can keep them in Puerto Rico?" He asked as AJ chuckled a little, "They really just up and left you?"

"Well hey, it's not like they ever added anything to my life. I left the house when I was sixteen. It's really made no difference." AJ shrugged, "Have you saw your mom since you got out?"

"Yeah. She came by looking for money." Punk nodded.

"Well that sort of answers my next question." AJ said, "How is she?"

"Just the same." Punk shrugged, "Drunk." He nodded.

"It's not like we need them." AJ shrugged as Punk nodded.

"It wouldn't matter if we did." Punk said truthfully as AJ nodded, looking across at him. She just hated how much she was still in love with him, but it was hard to share what they had and not feel anything anymore. He was her first love, her first everything. She couldn't just turn off her feelings, she was just trying her best to protect them from him.

"You ok?" Punk asked her, noticing she was in a daydream.

"Huh?" AJ snapped out of it, looking over at him, "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." AJ smiled softly as he nodded, turning back to Thea, staring at him with love as he fed their daughter. Now. Now she was starting to feel guilty.

* * *

_AJ had checked into a motel for the night. She refused to go anywhere that Punk would find her, especially not back to their apartment, which oddly didn't even feel like home anymore. The home wasn't the apartment. The home was Phil. He was her home, no matter where they were. Now she just felt lost._

_She went back and forth from crying to feeling numb. She'd never felt this alone. _

_She lay on the motel bed, hugging into her teddy bear. She barely had anything in her backpack. She only had enough money for one night at the motel, and after that… she had no idea where she was going to go. _

_She lay on the bed, hoping the tears would send her to sleep, when she heard a knock at the door._

_She turned around, reluctant to go answer it, however, she ended up deciding to answer it. She dried her eyes and opened up the door, looking down when she saw it was Greg._

"_Do you ever stop crying?" Greg walked into the motel room as AJ turned around watching him._

"_How did you find me?" AJ shook her head._

"_Well why wouldn't you be in a run-down motel?" Greg shook his head as AJ looked across at him. He consistently tried to patronise her, make her feel small and worthless, but she was pretty much already feeling that way anyway._

"_What do you want?" AJ asked._

"_You need to tell me where he'll be tonight." Greg nodded._

"_I told you." AJ shook her head, "I told you everything." She said as Greg nodded._

"_I need specifics, April." Greg said as AJ ran her hands through her hair. _

"_Tonight he makes a transfer in Englewood." AJ said, walking over to the bedside table and grabbing the paper and pen, writing down an address, "You'll find him here at this address." She said, handing him over the piece of paper as Greg nodded._

"_I'm not familiar with this sort of life, but I'm pretty sure you'd now be classified as a rat." Greg nodded to her as AJ glared at him._

"_I told you everything and we made a deal." AJ said._

"_We did." Greg said, walking closer towards her as AJ looked at him, "It's always good to do the right thing, April." He nodded as AJ looked up at him, "Maybe people like you can do good after all." He said, looking down on her, "Or maybe you'll always be dirty bottom feeders." He smiled, tilting her chin up as she pushed his hand away and stepped back._

"_Get out." AJ spat._

"_Hey, you helped me, I'll help you. We make a good team, April." _

"_Just get rid of him." AJ said, watching as Greg left the motel room, slamming the door shut behind him._


	22. Mistake

**Mistake**

* * *

"I can't believe she trusts you with her for a full night." Dean scoffed, sitting at the kitchen table watching his brother feeding Thea.

"I'll have you know… I'm not too bad at this dad thing." Punk smiled to himself as Dean watched with a smile.

"Maybe you're right." Dean nodded, watching Thea have her bottle, "So she has this and then she goes to bed?"

"Yeah." Punk said, "Sweet gig, huh?" He said.

"No kidding. Wish my life was that simple." Dean nodded, reaching for his box of cigarettes which Punk grabbed and threw behind him, "Hey." Dean said.

"No smoking in here anymore." Punk told him, "Do it outside."

"Why?" Dean shook his head.

"Because, we don't want the smoke around her." Punk said as Dean scoffed.

"She's a pain in my ass already." Dean stood up, teasing of course as Punk smiled, watching as he walked over to the back door, opening it up and lighting his cigarette.

"Hey, right outside." Punk said.

"Fucking hell, Phil." Dean scoffed like a child, walking right outside to have his cigarette as Punk shook his head, turning back down to Thea and watching her have her bottle.

It was crazy just how much joy she brought to his life. It didn't matter that they had very little materials to offer her, the love was enough. She was so loved and protected by all of them, and having her in his life now made him question what life even felt like without her.

"Wasn't so hard, was it?" Punk asked, watching Dean finally return from outside.

"Yeah, maybe not but I ain't going out there when it's snowing." Dean made clear.

"Yes you will." Punk shook his head just as there was a knock at the door, "Go get that." He nodded.

"Probably April changing her mind." Dean teased as Punk rolled his eyes.

Dean walked down the apartment towards the door, unlocking it and opening it up, pausing as he looked across. He only wished it was April.

"Deano." Rio smiled, stepping into the apartment, "How are you, my friend?" He wrapped his arms around Dean who hugged him back a little awkwardly.

"Hey, man." Dean patted his back, "You good?" He shook his head with confusion.

"All good, brother." Rio smiled, "I'm looking for your big brother." He nodded.

"He's in the kitchen." Dean said, closing the door over slowly. This very much concerned him.

Punk was too busy paying attention to Thea to have heard Rio coming in the door, he only noticed when he looked up and saw him coming into the kitchen, taking him back by surprise.

"Phil." Rio nodded with a relaxed smile.

"W-What… what are you doing here?" Punk shook his head, turning to Dean who appeared behind shrugging with confusion.

"Hey, that's not the sort of reunion I wanna have with you. Where is my hug?" Rio smiled.

"My hands are a little full, man." Punk said, obviously as Rio looked on.

"Of course." Rio said with a smile, "This must be little Tia."

"Thea." Punk corrected as Rio nodded.

"Man, she looks just like little April, doesn't she?" Rio leaned over, watching Thea as Punk looked at him, "I take it this means you and her are back together again?"

"No, it doesn't." Punk said, standing up, "Dean, take her into my room." He nodded to his brother as Rio watched with a small, curious smile.

"Come on, munchkin." Dean smiled as he took Thea from Punk, leaving the kitchen as Punk looked across at Rio.

"You kicked April's door in a couple months ago." Punk spat, "Why?"

"Oh, I didn't do that." Rio shook his head, leaning against the kitchen sink.

"Well then your boys did." Punk said, "She's alone in that apartment, and she's supposed to be a friend of yours-"

"A friend?" Rio smiled to himself.

"Yeah, a friend." Punk nodded, "I thought you'd look out for her whilst I was gone-"

"You're the one who left her knocked up and alone… not me." Rio pointed out as Punk looked across at him, "Me and April aren't friends, Phil." He shook his head seriously.

"What do you mean?" Punk shook his head.

"Oh, you poor bastard." Rio scoffed, "I knew she'd do this. You know, women are evil. I don't even know why we bother sometimes." He chuckled as Punk shook his head with confusion.

"Am I missing something here?" Punk asked, watching Rio laugh to himself.

"Oh, yeah." Rio said, his laugh dying out, "April ratted you out to the cops." Rio nodded as Punk looked across at him.

"What?" Punk hissed, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well actually, if you want the technical details, she ratted me out to the cops." Rio said, "Little bitch knew where I'd be and sent the cops after me." He nodded, "Only problem was… I sent you out that night instead." He nodded to himself as Punk shook his head with confusion, "So your baby mama… is the reason you spent the last year in a cell for twenty three hours a day, buddy." Rio nodded.

"She wouldn't have called the cops on you… or me." Punk shook his head.

"Well she did. She spoke to someone. After you got sent down they tried going after me but I… I got spooked when you got caught and moved the whole business south right away." Rio said as Punk shook his head to himself.

"How do you know she did it?" Punk looked at him.

"Because I'm not dumb, Phil." Rio laughed, "She came to see me days before, begging me to let you go. She obviously realised that getting rid of me was probably the answer to all her problems. All your problems. Why she still cared about you after you cheated on her is beyond me anyway." He said, "And I was always so nice to her. How stupid was I?"

"So she called the cops on you but-"

"I sent you that night instead. No offence but… I'm glad I did now." He chuckled as Punk glared at him.

"I…" Punk shook his head with confusion, not knowing what to think or say. Feeling rage surge through him, rage and confusion.

"I gotta give it to her, she's a badder bitch than I gave her credit for." Rio nodded to himself as Punk pushed by him and walked down the apartment.

"Dean, stay here with Thea." Punk walked into the bedroom.

"Huh? Where are you going? I don't know what to do with her." Dean panicked.

"Just let her fall asleep and put her in her crib." Punk said, "I gotta go talk to April." He said angrily, leaving the room and storming out of the apartment whilst Rio stood in the kitchen smiling to himself, reaching over for one of Dean's cigarettes and lighting up.

Punk quickly made his way to AJ's apartment, running up the stairs in the apartment block and getting to the door, immediately banging on the door with his fist.

"April, open up this door!" Punk yelled.

* * *

"_April, open up this door!"_

_AJ woke up in the motel bed, sitting up sleepily, her hair stuck to her dried in tears as she listened to the banging on the door. _

"_Open it up!" Dean yelled as AJ groaned, walking over to the door and opening it up as he rushed into the room, "Phil has been arrested."_

"_What?" AJ looked across at him as he paced the motel room._

"_He got caught last night… at a house… I… I don't know, he called me from jail and said it's bad." _

"_W-What?" AJ trembled, placing her hand over her mouth, "No, he wasn't…" She shook her head to herself, "No." She said to herself._

"_I called Rio but there was no answer. He's probably splitting as we speak, especially if the cops are sniffing around." Dean said as AJ sat down on the bed, her hands shaking as she placed them over her mouth._

"_No… no, this can't be happening." AJ looked up at Dean._

"_We should go to the station." Dean nodded to her, "Get ready to go." He said stressfully as AJ nodded._

_She quickly got ready and they both left, heading to the station where AJ immediately ran into ahead of Dean. This wasn't what she wanted. This wasn't the deal she made._

"_Dean… you… you go out and keep calling Rio, ok?" AJ nodded, trying to get rid of him for now as Dean nodded._

"_Yeah, I'll try him again." Dean said, walking out of the station as AJ ran over to the desk._

"_I need to talk to Officer Hamilton." AJ nodded, "Please." She said frantically just as she spotted Greg, "Hey." AJ ran to him, "What the hell is going on? What are you doing?" AJ shook her head as Greg looked around worriedly, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into a side room._

"_Don't you come here heated like that." Greg pointed._

"_This wasn't what we agreed. I told you, Phil… Phil is good, it's Rio, he's the one you were going to arrest-"_

"_Yeah, only problem is, it was your boyfriend we found doing the business, April." Greg said, "He was the one we found. That's not my problem. You told me Rio would be at that address, making a transfer, instead we found Phil… that's not my problem-"_

"_But you don't have to arrest him." AJ said frantically._

"_Are you dumb?" Greg laughed, "Your so called good boyfriend is trafficking drugs, April. We don't ignore that." He said._

"_He's just caught up in it-"_

"_So is everyone who does it." Greg said, "He's no different. You lied to me. You told me he wasn't involved." He pointed out as AJ ran her hands through her hair, "You told me Rio was just threatening him but… seems to me like Phil was pretty hands on. You know… technically I should arrest you too-"_

"_Then arrest me." AJ hissed as Greg looked at her with a small smile, "He wasn't supposed to be there." AJ whispered to herself, running her hands through her hair as Greg looked at her._

"_Look, he's being a bastard and he's not talking to us. He's not ratting anyone out. This Rio fella… we can't locate him either and when we do, odds are, there will be nothing for us to find." Greg said._

"_But Phil… he can't go down for this." AJ shook her head frantically, "No, you have to release him."_

"_April… Phil won't be released." Greg told her honestly as AJ looked up at him._

"_We had a deal!" AJ screamed as Greg looked at her._

"_The deal was, I kept you out of it, not Phil." Greg reminded her, "You're just an anonymous tip. That was our deal." _

"_No, I told you how to get Rio-"_

"_And we got Phil instead. That's the way it's gonna be." Greg said bluntly, "Come on, let's not pretend I haven't taken a massive weight off your shoulders." He said as AJ looked at him._

"_I'm having a baby." AJ gulped, "So just… please, just give him a chance-"_

"_I don't care." Greg said, "My advice to you is get yourself and your baby away from him." Greg said, "We have nothing more to talk about." He said, opening up the door of the room as AJ looked up at him. _

_She couldn't believe this. She thought she was doing something good, something that would help Phil, even in all the distress and pain he caused her, she still wanted him to get better, and that meant Rio had to disappear… she'd thought it through… she had._

"_Please." AJ shook her head._

"_You need to leave." Greg told her as AJ ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath as she walked out of the room. Her heart was beating so fast, she'd never been so scared like this, this wasn't what she intended._

_She walked down the station corridor, suddenly watching as Punk was brought out of a room in handcuffs. She paused, taking a breath as she watched him turn around and notice her._

"_April." Punk paused, looking across at her, "April, I'm sorry." He shook his head as AJ began to cry, watching the officer behind him pull on his arm._

"_Phil." AJ tried running after him as Greg pulled her back._

"_Leave." Greg told her as AJ watched Punk get escorted out of sight._


	23. Heated

**Heated**

* * *

"What the hell, Phil?" AJ opened up the apartment door, watching as he pushed by her and walked into the apartment.

"What the hell is right." Punk spat angrily as AJ closed the door over, following him in his rage into the living room.

"Phil where is Thea?" AJ questioned worriedly.

"You talked to the cops." Punk said, "You. It was you." He shook his head, still in disbelief as AJ gulped. She dreaded the day he found out about this. She desperately wanted to tell him sooner than this but she was afraid of this exact moment.

"Phil, I… it's not-"

"Oh, what? It's not what I think?" Punk questioned, "You ratted out Rio to the cops and I took the fall for all of it? I went to prison because you-"

"Hold on a second." AJ snapped, "You went to prison because you were drug dealing." AJ spat, "Don't put all of that on me. That was your choice. Your decisions-"

"I can't believe you actually did this." Punk shook his head, running his hand through his hair, "I can't believe it was you."

"It wasn't supposed to be you they got. It was Rio-"

"I don't know what is worse! You go after Rio and you make a lifelong enemy. What the hell were you thinking?" He shook his head.

"I was thinking my boyfriend is losing his damn mind and he needs help!" AJ yelled, "He was the source of it all. I thought if the cops took him down then… then you could get out of it all, get back to your normal self." She said, "I knew Rio did the transfer every Thursday night in Englewood. I knew he always did it himself. Otherwise I wouldn't have gave the cops the address." She said, "I was sure he would be there. He should have been there."

"Well your little plan backfired." Punk said, "Because I did the transfer and I spent the past year of my life in a damn prison cell!" Punk yelled.

"And that is ultimately on you, Phil!" AJ shouted back, "If it wasn't going to be then, it would have been in a year or two… you were going to get caught, or killed. Even you can admit now that you were in a horrible place back then. I was trying to help you. Even after walking in on you screwing some other girl, I still wanted to help you." She spat.

"Oh, yeah. You really helped me out." Punk nodded sarcastically, sitting down on the couch, only to stand back up, feeling too agitated, "Why would you even get involved with the cops? How did you tell them to go after Rio without involving me? By ratting out Rio, you were putting me in danger-"

"I made a deal with Hamilton-"

"Hamilton?" Punk screwed his face up, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I made a deal." AJ spat, "He was taking my word as an anonymous tip. I didn't say anything about you working for him. I told him Rio knew my family and he'd been threatening us… you." AJ said, "I gave him the transfer address details because I knew Rio did it by himself. Come on, even you know that he always did it himself." AJ said.

"How dare you." Punk shook his head.

"How dare I?" AJ questioned.

"I come into this place and I feel like I owe you my life. I feel like I'm the worst person in the world for what I did to you, for leaving you, for not being here for my daughter and all along you knew that it was because you opened up your mouth to the cops." Punk spat.

"I was trying to help you." AJ hissed.

"I missed seeing my daughter being born!" Punk yelled.

"Oh." AJ laughed as Punk watched her angrily, "Oh, right… that's why you're mad?" AJ asked, "Because I recall being pregnant with that said daughter, telling you about it and then… later that night finding you in our bed with some other girl-"

"I would have been there-"

"Bullshit!" AJ pointed at him, "You were a horrible person back then. You didn't give a shit about me or the baby. You just let me walk out of your life because Rio and the job was more important." She said, "You know, I should have ratted you out to the police-"

"Well you practically did!" Punk yelled, "If you kept your mouth shut then I wouldn't have lost the last year of my life."

"And guess where you'd be? Still working for Rio." AJ said as Punk looked across at her.

"N-No… no, I would have gotten out-"

"Wait a second." AJ paused as Punk looked at her, "Who told you about this?" AJ realised, "Who told you it was me-"

"Rio." Punk said as AJ glared at him.

"So… you two are talking again?" AJ nodded to herself, "Oh, I am such an idiot." She laughed to herself.

"Hey, this was the first time I've saw him since I got out. He came into the apartment and told me." Punk said, "I knew you were lying, when you said he kicked down your door because of your family… it was because of this." Punk realised.

"If I never took action, you would have still been working for him, putting yourself in danger every day. You weren't going to stop. I couldn't stop you, so I had to get rid of Rio-"

"Well congratulations on your big fucking plan working out." Punk nodded, "I really enjoyed sitting in therapy and group discussions in prison talking about drugs every single day-"

"Yeah well maybe that's what you needed." AJ spat, "I had your best interest at heart. Don't you dare think I did this to hurt you. I was trying to help you." She said.

After the shock of everything back then, she stood by her decisions, she knew she had his best interest at heart and even though she felt guilty for practically putting him in prison, accidentally, after seeing the way he was now, the old boyfriend she remembered loving and caring about her, she stood by her decision even more.

"I can't believe all this time I've been grovelling at your feet. I've been spending time here pouring my heart out to you on how sorry I am, how much of an idiot I was-"

"You were an idiot. And you should be sorry for what you did, for hurting me, for not listening to me, for cheating one… don't act like this changes anything you did." She said.

"But you sat there and listened to me apologise and apologise… didn't it come to mind for you to maybe, I don't know… tell me it was you who got the cops on my ass." He gritted his teeth angrily, "How did they even get me sent down without Rio going down with me? If you ratted him out… how did he get away-"

"Well you never spoke and took anyone down with you. By the time you were being sent down, Rio obviously got spooked and moved the business. By the time Hamilton found him, there was no evidence to arrest him on. They just took what activity you were doing as their case and sent you down for that." AJ said.

"I was supposed to get five years." Punk said, thinking to himself, "That was my sentence." He said, "I managed to get an appeal and I got out on good behaviour. But I could have lost five years of my life. Five years of my daughter's life I could have missed." Punk spat.

"You have no one to blame but yourself." AJ shook her head as Punk looked at her, "You got yourself into that mess. I warned you and I warned you-"

"Oh, of course. Saint April." Punk said, "I forgot how fucking good you were-"

"Yeah, I made my mistakes, Phil but I didn't make a living out of it. I didn't enjoy it." AJ spat, "You did. And nothing I could have said, was going to get you out of it. Not even a baby. You didn't care." She said as Punk ran his hands through his hair, "You needed prison."

"There was a lot of things I needed back then. It certainly wasn't prison." Punk made clear.

"It was. You said it yourself. It opened your eyes to everything you didn't wanna be anymore." AJ said, "So maybe… maybe I did you a favour."

"Would you like me to thank you?" Punk asked, "Shall I get down on my knees and thank you? Thank you for taking a year of my life away from me!" He spat.

"Blame me all you like." AJ nodded calmly, "You put yourself in this situation. I was trying to help you. If Rio went away, you could have had more of a chance to find yourself again. I'm not saying we would have been perfect, because you still hurt me, despite you going to prison. But things could have been a lot more different." She said.

"When I saw you at the station… I told you I was sorry." Punk remembered, "And you were the one who had put me there." He looked across at her as AJ stared at him.

"It was never supposed to be you." AJ spat.

"You realise if you got Rio sent to prison that he would have killed you when he got out?" Punk said.

"I didn't care." AJ spat, "I was putting you first. You needed help. Maybe it wasn't the ideal way to get it, but you got the help you needed. These past few weeks I've saw you and… and it's like that boy I fell in love with again." AJ nodded, "Watching you with Thea, it's… it's everything I wanted you to be." She nodded, "Prison helped you, whether you want to admit it or not."

"It also took my entire life away from me, April." Punk shook his head.

"What do you think our life would look like if you never got sent down?" AJ asked him, "Because I know for a fact it wouldn't be pretty." She nodded, "Do you know that I was going to have an abortion?" She said as Punk tilted his head, "You know what stopped me? You leaving." She nodded as Punk looked down at her.

"So… so if I never went to prison you would have had an abortion?" Punk shook his head, "That makes no sense."

"If you never went to prison you would have still been working for Rio. I didn't want a baby involved in that." She spat, "And I hate myself every day for even considering it because I look in her eyes now and I… I'm so thankful I have her." She said, "But you were not someone I would have wanted around her back then. And nothing would have changed if you never went to prison. You would still be working for Rio." She said, "It hurt me that I wasn't enough to stop you."

"It wasn't about you." Punk sighed, "It wasn't about you not being enough to stop me. I lost sight of everything. I wasn't me." He nodded, he could admit that, "But you still got me sent to prison, April."

"And maybe, in a couple years, you'll thank me for it. You'll thank yourself that it was you that got caught that night. Because it turned your life around. It helped you find yourself again." AJ said as Punk looked across at her.

What she was saying made perfect sense, she was right. He just felt betrayed.

"I just don't understand why you thought getting the cops involved was ever going to work out well for us." Punk said.

"Well it would have hadn't you done the transfer that night." AJ said.

"And don't you think Rio would have taken me down with him?" Punk questioned as AJ thought to herself, "Didn't think about that, did you?" He saw it in her face.

"He wouldn't have-"

"Of course he would have." Punk said, "You wanna know what I think happened?"

"What happened then? You tell me." AJ spat.

"You were hurt. You were heartbroken. You hated me." Punk said, "So went to the cops and you got them involved. You told them about Rio, with no regard to myself-"

"No." AJ said calmly, "I was hurt. I was heartbroken. I hated you." AJ nodded in agreement, "And I was still trying to protect you." She spat as Punk looked at her, "My actions were not malicious. Even after everything you did to me, I was trying to do right by you. Don't you dare be mad at me for that. Truth is back then, you didn't deserve anyone to care about you." She spat as Punk looked down at her, stepping closer to her.

"And yet you still clung onto me. Why?" Punk questioned, "Because you knew you had nothing else without me. Without this place-"

"I did fine on my own." AJ spat.

"Did you?" Punk questioned, "You never leave this place. It's falling apart." He looked around, "That night I came in and saw you almost being raped… you were angry with me for beating him up… maybe I'm the guy you're starting to remember again but… maybe you're not the girl I remember-"

"I never leave this place because I have a child to take care of." AJ spat, "It's falling apart because I have no money. And I wasn't angry you beat that man up. I was angry that I had no strength in me to do it myself!" She yelled angrily as Punk looked at her, "I haven't changed. I just had to grow up a little faster." She spat, looking up at him.

"I've had the last year of my life taken from me, April!" Punk yelled, "I want that year back!"

"I wanted my boyfriend back!" AJ screamed as Punk looked at her, both of them a little out of breath from screaming, staring at one another before crashing their lips together. There was no thought process behind why, it just happened, and it felt so good, it felt so right… and then it began to feel incredibly wrong.

"No." AJ shoved him after the hot and reckless kiss, pushing him back, "No." She shook her head as Punk looked across at her, "You have to leave." She spat as Punk looked across at her.

"I didn't want to kiss you." Punk realised. It was just like magnets. He was still mad with her. But being so close in contact with her, so heated, it just happened on both their ends, and it was the type of toxic behaviour they remembered having a year ago when things began going south.

"Neither did I." AJ said, "Get out." She told him, watching as he walked by her and left the apartment.

She walked over to the couch, sitting down and burying her face in her hands with stress.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys!**


	24. Done

**Done**

* * *

"Why the hell would she talk to the cops?" Dean shook his head with confusion.

Punk had returned back to the apartment where Dean had managed to put Thea to sleep. Rio had left and Punk was filling Dean on everything that was going on.

"She thought getting rid of Rio would help me." Punk shook his head, leaning over the crib and watching Thea sleep.

"He would have taken everyone down with him." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"That's what I said." Punk said, "I hate yelling at each other like that." Punk sighed, walking over and sitting down on the bed.

He was drained from his fight with AJ. This was something he never wanted to happen. Things were going so well with them. They were moving slow but it was definitely in the right direction.

"Did you try and talk to her calmly?" Dean asked.

"No, we were both hot." Punk nodded, "I just… I can't believe she spoke to the cops. It's not like her to do something like that." He said.

"Well she was probably so upset and angry with how you were acting. She took drastic actions." Dean said, "And I guess they backfired."

"She could have told me." Punk said, "I've been feeling so shit these past few weeks. Bowing down to her, playing to her rules, feeling dreadful for everything I put her through… and she didn't think to mention it to me that she was the one who spoke to the cops?" He sighed, "And now Rio obviously wants to get at her for trying to rat him out initially." He said.

"Not that I agree with her talking to the cops, but… don't you think she was just trying to help you?" Dean said, "I mean, even after walking in on you with some other girl, she was still trying to be there for you and help you out." Dean said, "That's admirable."

"I don't know what to think." Punk admitted, "I just don't think we're ever gonna get past all of this." He shook his head.

"Hey, you will." Dean nodded, "You gotta give each other space. You're both clearly angry. April was trying to do the right thing, she saw you needed help and figured getting rid of Rio would have gave you a chance to… find yourself again. Whether you want to admit it or not, she had good intentions, and really… you didn't deserve for her to try and look out for you after the way you treated her."

"I know that." Punk sighed to himself, "But getting the cops involved… what the hell was she thinking?"

"She was thinking it was her only option." Dean shrugged, "Plus, she was pregnant. It was probably a really scary time for her."

"She was gonna get an abortion." Punk said, "If I stayed, she was gonna get an abortion. She didn't want me around a baby being the way I was back then."

"Phil, I can't blame her." Dean nodded honestly, "Things were rough back then. You weren't a good person to be around. You know that yourself. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have got the cops involved, but I can see the change in you. I can see what good prison has done for you. If you never went, you'd still be working with Rio. You needed something to physically stop you-"

"So… you're saying I should thank her?" Punk shook his head, "I lost a whole year of my life. I missed my daughter being born." He said.

"And you're here now." Dean said, "I'm not saying you should thank her, just… try and put yourself in her shoes-"

"I'd never talk to the cops." Punk scoffed, "What if she secretly hoped I got taken down too? What if she wanted me gone?"

"You don't believe that, do you?" Dean said.

"I don't know what to believe anymore." Punk shook his head, "When did Rio leave?" He asked.

"He left straight after you did." Dean said, "Just… please, for the love of God, stay away from him. Or you'll just end up back where you started." He said as Punk nodded.

* * *

_After a night of wandering the streets, feeling lost, feeling guilty, feeling beside herself that she had put Punk in jail where he was no doubt being sentenced to time in prison. She hadn't intended him to get involved. She just wanted all his problems to go away, she wanted him to get help, and with Rio around tempting him with work, she knew the problems weren't going to go away._

_She headed back to the apartment finally. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had an appointment at the abortion clinic in the morning and rent had to be paid for the end of the week. Things just felt so heavy on her._

_She got into the apartment, the first thing she did of course was frantically change their bed sheets. Her guilt wasn't overpowering the rage and the hatred for the way Punk had treated her, especially when all she did was try and help. She couldn't help but still love him, and she knew she was in trouble with that. For him to treat her so badly and still find it in her to stick by him, to try and help him, she knew he had to be very special to her._

_Once changing the sheets, she took a shower and washed her hair. She knew involving herself with the cops was always going to be a risky game, but she was so sure of Rio's whereabouts on specific nights, that she had no hesitation to tell Greg the address. She just couldn't believe Punk had taken up the job that night instead._

_She got out of the shower, putting some shorts and t-shirt on and walking over to the bed. She collapsed on it, sitting against the pillows and sighing to herself. The apartment feel so quiet and empty without him. _

_It hadn't quite sunk in yet that he was really going to prison, for however long. It was still hard to digest. She'd been with him since she was just sixteen. She couldn't even describe what kind of unbelievable connection they had, and she felt like she'd really lost him. She had lost him emotionally, a long time ago, but now she had lost him physically._

_She reached for her backpack and pulled it onto the bed, taking out her teddy bear and her doctor's leaflets._

_She sat reading the leaflets, sighing to herself. She didn't want to be all alone. She was afraid that with nothing to carry on for, she would lose her own self. Even though so doubtful about it, this baby was something she knew would help her keep herself together. She felt like it was almost the reason why she decided take such drastic actions in regards to Punk._

_She tossed the leaflets over to the side, nodding to herself as she placed her hand over her tummy, "It's just me and you." She whispered softly, looking up and around the empty room._

* * *

The next day, Punk had left to drop Thea back with AJ. He was tempted to ask Dean to drop her off, but he figured there was no use in avoiding each other. He gave Thea her morning bottle and then headed on over to the apartment.

He knocked on the door and waited outside until AJ answered, watching her open the door slowly and look across at him.

He walked on into the apartment, neither of them saying anything as he pushed the stroller in, lifting up Thea as AJ watched with a smile.

"Oh, baby… mommy missed you so much." AJ said, taking her from Punk, holding her close to her chest, supporting the back of her head and kissing her cheek repeatedly as Punk watched.

"She was no trouble." Punk nodded calmly, "Everything is back in her bag apart from the onesie with the bears on it. She spit up this morning so I threw it in the wash. I'll bring it back tomorrow or whatever." He said as AJ nodded to him.

"Thank you." AJ nodded.

"I better get going. I have a late start at work." He said, checking the time as AJ nodded, watching him walk down towards the door.

"Wait… Phil." AJ gulped as Punk turned around, "I won't apologise." She said as Punk looked across at her, "You can kid yourself on all you like, tell me that you would have gotten better without prison but… you were caught up in something terrifying." She nodded, "And everyone around you knew it besides you." She said, "Even though I never meant for you to go down… I don't regret what I did." She nodded as Punk looked across at her.

"I don't particularly want to talk about it anymore." Punk nodded to her, "I don't think this… I don't think we're gonna recover from any of this." He admitted, "We have Thea and we have to make it work for her but…" He thought to himself, still desperately in love with her, "I think it's done for me and you." He shrugged as AJ looked across at him.

She was never bargaining on getting back with him, even though she'd had plenty of dreams, but hearing him say those words really put it into perspective. Things had changed. Their mistakes weren't a present day thrill, they were behind them, haunting them and hurting them.

"I think so too." AJ agreed, looking across at him.

"If we can just work it out for Thea, a schedule that I can see her, and you can see her… that's all we really have to talk about." He said as AJ nodded.

"I agree." AJ said, "I wouldn't take her away from you."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Punk admitted truthfully.

"Excuse me?" AJ looked across at him, holding Thea close to her chest.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to start seeing Thea outwith the apartment. If I can have her for the day, or the night, I'll take her out and drop her back off." He said.

"So what you… you can't stand the sight of me?" AJ looked across at him.

"No, I just… I have nothing to say." Punk said.

"And neither do I." AJ said stubbornly.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "Well, if I can come by tomorrow and take her out I'd appreciate it."

"Yeah." AJ said as Punk nodded, looking across at her. It was killing him that their past was too scarred to fix up. It was horrible being so in love with her, and not being able to do much about it. Too much had been said, too much had been done.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Punk said casually as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, ok." AJ said, watching as he left the apartment, closing the door over as she felt tears welling in her eyes.


	25. Not Easy

**Not Easy**

* * *

"I am in so much pain." Punk moaned, lying on top of his bed shirtless as Dean walked in, chuckling to himself.

"That's what you get for painting your entire chest." Dean shook his head, "So dumb."

"It's so tight. Why am I like this?" Punk groaned as Dean smiled.

"I'm thinking pizza tonight, what about you?" Dean asked, throwing a menu over to him as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, whatever." Punk nodded, "I'm picking up Thea in an hour."

"She better not cry all night like last weekend." Dean warned, "Or she is packing her bags and heading back to Mendez residence." He said as Punk shook his head.

"She wasn't well last week." Punk scoffed.

"Ok, so what will she have? Pepperoni?" Dean teased as Punk nodded along, "Things not any better with you and April?" He asked.

"They're just the same." Punk shrugged.

It had been a few weeks since their major fight. Since then it had been strictly conversations about Thea and nothing more. Punk took Thea out whenever he was getting to see her, and dropped her back off.

"I'm still rooting for you guys." Dean nodded. He knew what they had.

"I wouldn't bother." Punk said, sitting up, "She did what she did, I did what I did-"

"Not many people would have helped you out back then. April certainly shouldn't have after you treated her like a piece of shit." Dean said, "But she still did. If that doesn't prove anything, I don't know what does." He shrugged, "Come on, I saw you guys since you were kids. You had it-"

"Maybe we lost it." Punk shrugged, reaching for his t-shirt, "I really thought when I got out of prison that I could work hard at making it up to her, being there for her and reminding her of all the good times we had, the love we had… but it's just… it's not there."

"You're giving up." Dean nodded.

"No, I'm just facing the reality of it." Punk said, "I know I was a terrible person and I made terrible mistakes. I know I hurt her in the worst ways possible." He said, "And yeah, maybe she was trying to look out for me by attempting to get rid of Rio." He nodded. He could see why AJ wanted to get rid of Rio, it wasn't like he couldn't understand that part, "But she's just different. She's not… she's not the April I remember."

"Listen, I didn't wanna throw this out there because I felt like it really wasn't my place but…" Dean paused, "Do you think she's like… depressed or something?"

"Depressed?" Punk asked.

"Yeah. I mean she's all alone, she doesn't talk to anyone, she has no friends, no job, she spends all her time in the apartment. She had Thea on her own. I mean that's gotta be pretty traumatic, especially as a nineteen year old." Dean said, "Maybe she needs some help."

"I told her before if she ever needed to talk, I was here. I would never… not help her." Punk said, "But what am I supposed to do?" Punk shook his head, "I'm not spending all this time wasting it on apologising to her when I don't think she even cares-"

"Hey, of course she cares." Dean said.

"Why are you so team April?" Punk stood up, "I'm your brother."

"Well because I think everything she did was for good reasoning, and you were horrible to her. She was heartbroken seeing you get the way you did." Dean said as Punk looked at him, "I know you guys are gonna end up back together." He scoffed.

"Honestly, man… I don't think so." Punk shook his head, "I don't think it's what she wants. And honestly, I'm kinda confused. Her talking to the cops has kinda… thrown me back a little."

"Yeah and I get that." Dean nodded, "I do." He said, "I just don't want you to rule it all out."

"I gotta go pick Thea up." Punk said.

"I'll order for you coming back." Dean said as Punk nodded.

* * *

"Everything is in her bag. She's still really congested, keep an eye on her nose." AJ nodded, handing Punk the bag with Thea's things in it as Punk nodded.

"You got her pacifiers?" Punk asked.

"They're in the bag." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"I'll drop her off in the afternoon tomorrow." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"I'll be here." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"You… getting up to anything tonight?" He asked. There still felt like a lot of tension between them, tension they just didn't want to confront in the case of another outburst again. It was just very hard for them to adapt to the way things were.

"No, I'll probably catch an early night." AJ shrugged, "Finish my book." She said as Punk nodded.

"I thought you'd be out partying." Punk shrugged as AJ made a face.

"Oh, yeah. Cause I'm a big time party girl." AJ scoffed.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to go out and shut the mom brain off for a couple hours." Punk said.

"With all those friends I have?" AJ smiled to him as he nodded to himself.

"Never were good at making friends, were you?" He nodded to her.

"Not really my thing." AJ agreed, "I know what all our friends from high school think of me." She shrugged.

"What they thinking?" Punk asked.

"Well I had a baby at nineteen with a guy who was in prison at the time." AJ said, "Speaks for itself I think." She shrugged.

"It's a pretty brave thing to do. There's no shame in that." Punk told her bluntly as she looked up at him.

"You should have saw the looks I got at those baby classes." She said, "If judging could kill." She scoffed as he looked at her. He'd really not taken into consideration how alone she had been this entire time. He thought he was the alone one, spending his time in a prison cell, but… it was almost as if this place had turned into her own prison cell.

"Bet it was all worth it when you first held her." Punk smiled as AJ looked up at him.

"Actually… me and her got off to a little rough start." AJ said as Punk shook his head, "I was diagnosed with post-natal depression." She said, looking down at the ground as Punk watched her.

"Does Dean hide in these walls?" Punk whispered to himself, "Well… how are you doing now?" He asked her.

"It comes and goes." AJ nodded. She had no plans on telling him. She felt like it made her look weak. Coming from a family who didn't talk about their mental health, it was so unnatural for her to come out and admit hers was awful. And yet… she could still find the comfort in telling him, even after everything they were going through.

"You got pills for it or-"

"Yeah, but I try not to take them." AJ said, "They just make me sleepy." She nodded, "I just wasn't a very good mom." She shrugged, "I think I'm getting there now, though. When I saw you come in and how good you were with her right away… I got a little jealous." She admitted as Punk looked across at her.

"You could never be a terrible mom. You're an amazing mom." Punk said, "The way you care for Thea, I mean I can see how comfortable she is just in your arms." He said, "It's not an easy thing, for anyone, let alone… us."

"Us." AJ nodded to herself.

Everything felt so up in the air. From going to yelling at one another with so much pain and hurt, to just trying to understand each other. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that neither were all that good at handling.

"I should get going." Punk said as AJ nodded, "I know that things are all over the place with us right now but… I'm always here for you. If you need to talk." He assured her as she nodded. She knew that deep down.

"I'm doing ok." AJ shrugged as he nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Punk nodded to her as she smiled softly.

"Yeah." AJ smiled, walking over to the stroller and leaning into it to say goodbye to Thea, "Bye, baby." She whispered, kissing Thea's nose as the baby girl scrunched her face up a little, making AJ smile.

* * *

"_Are you alright?" A man sitting next to AJ on the bus asked, turning around where AJ was sitting breathing heavily to herself whilst holding her nine month pregnant bump._

"_Oh, yeah." AJ nodded to him, "I'm just in labour." She said calmly as the man shook his head with worry._

"_Are you… Are you gonna make it?" He asked, shifting a little on his seat to give her more room._

"_Oh, yeah. I… I'm off at the next stop." AJ said, "And the contractions are really far apart. I'll be fine." AJ said calmly as the man looked on with amazement. _

"_Have you called someone?" He asked worriedly._

"_Mhm." AJ lied. She had no one to call._

_She got off at the next stop and walked for fifteen minutes to the hospital between contractions, having to stop every now and then to find her breath. She didn't have enough money to get a cab and so the bus was her only option._

"_Hey." AJ walked up to the hospital main desk, "I'm uh… I'm having a baby I guess." AJ said, "I'll go wait over there-"_

"_Oh, no… honey, let's get you to a room right away." The doctor behind the desk nodded, "What's your name?"_

"_April Mendez." AJ said, calmly breathing in and out. The pain wasn't what she was scared of. The birth wasn't what she as scared of. What she was scared of was meeting this baby._

_She got taken to a room right away, hooked up to different machines where her contractions began coming quicker and quicker together._

_Before she knew it she was giving birth. She was grateful for the amazing nurses she had with her. It didn't make her feel completely alone, and they definitely took tremendous care of her._

_Hearing the first cries from her baby was overwhelming, a feeling she would never forget, and even more so the feeling of her being placed on her chest. It was something she couldn't quite understand. How this little person meant so much to her in just seconds of seeing her. She held onto the baby girl, realising right there and then that she would do anything for her._

_For the most part she was in shock, in awe of finally having her baby in her arms after nine months. A few hours after the birth, the doctors finally gave her time to rest, leaving her in her room with the baby girl in her bassinet beside her._

_It was dark outside and the hospital halls were silent. Her room was dark with just a side light on. Even after the exhaustion of giving birth, she couldn't close her eyes over._

_She looked over at Thea in her bassinet, leaning over and picking her up into her arms. She knew she had to do right by this tiny person. She had to protect her, protect her from things that her parents never protected her from. _

"_Hey, you." AJ whispered, looking on at the tiny baby girl sleeping, "You're so beautiful." AJ shook her head. She had the softest skin, the brownest eyes and the fuzziest hair. There was nothing more beautiful to her._

_In that moment, holding her baby daughter, she wanted Punk. She wanted him here to meet their baby. She was very aware that even though he had hurt her and she had practically put him in prison… nothing would change the fact they had something so special together, this little baby._

"_I wish you could meet your daddy." AJ said, softly stroking Thea's cheek as the baby girl opened up her eyes, "Hi." AJ smiled softly, leaning down and kissing her nose._

_She then watched as Thea began to cry, really loudly. AJ looked up around the room and back to Thea, not really sure what to do, watching the door in hopes that someone would come help her. But it was a very clear sign that she was all alone in this. She had no help, and she was terrified._


	26. Problems

**Problems**

* * *

AJ was at home on her own whilst Punk had Thea for the night. It was hard to get used to the feeling of being completely alone. She didn't know what to do with herself without her baby girl around.

There was a lot playing on her mind. Ever since their major fight a few weeks ago, she and Punk had been keeping their distance, only having short conversations, mostly about Thea. They were both hurting, and both very confused. But she refused to feel guilty for anything she did. All she ever did was try and help him, even when he didn't deserve her help. She wasn't going to feel bad about that.

She was laying up on the couch, finishing the rest of her book when she heard a knock at the door. She got up, wondering if she had perhaps forgot to pack something in Thea's bag, wandering down the hallway and opening up the door.

She immediately tried to close it over once she saw who it was.

"Not so fast." Rio hummed, putting his foot in the door as AJ looked at him. She watched as he walked into the apartment, pushing by her as she closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" AJ asked, watching him disappear into the kitchen as she walked after him, "Haven't you done enough?" She spat as Rio smiled a little, leaning against the kitchen counter, looking across at her.

"I'm really trying hard not to confuse your bravery with your stupidity." Rio nodded to her, "I assume Phil wasn't all too pleased after finding out it was you who wound up putting him in prison-"

"I have nothing to say to you." AJ said.

"I don't care. I have things to say to you." Rio said, "Sit down." He nodded as AJ stood defiantly without moving. She then watched as he walked towards her slowly, looking down at her, "Sit. Down." He spat, glaring down at her as AJ looked up at him.

She pushed by him and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, sitting down as Rio watched and eventually joined her.

"What do you want?" AJ shook her head.

"I just want to talk." Rio said calmly, "You're lucky." He nodded.

"I'm lucky?" AJ laughed a little.

"Yeah." Rio said, "You're lucky that it was Phil who got caught that night. Because if your little plan worked, and it was me, you'd be dead." Rio said bluntly as AJ looked across at him, "I have a hard time accepting what you did, April." He nodded, "I helped you. I helped you out a lot-"

"You gave me problems." AJ corrected, "You took over Phil's life, over his brain." AJ said, "I had to do something."

"I was the reason you two weren't living on the streets." Rio said, "I bailed you out of jail, I let you stay with me, I gave you money, I even helped your family out when they were dumb enough to mix with the wrong people." He said, "And this… this was how you repaid me?"

"I was doing it for Phil." AJ said.

"He's a big boy. He can make decisions for himself." Rio said.

"Not back then he couldn't." AJ shook her head, "He was dedicating everything to working for you. It was unhealthy and it was gonna get him in trouble or killed." She said, "Don't blame me for trying to protect him. I know you have family. You'd do the same for someone you love." She said.

"Oh, sure. I'd help someone I loved." Rio agreed, "I wouldn't rat anyone out in the process." He glared across at her, "I thought me and you were friends, April."

"We were." AJ nodded, "And then you took my boyfriend from me and brainwashed him-"

"He wasn't brainwashed." Rio said, "I told him, he could come and go when he pleased, there was no binding contract keeping him working for me." He said, "Phil worked with me because he enjoyed it. That's something you still don't want to talk about, and it's something he certainly doesn't want to confront." He said.

"He just got caught up in all of it." AJ shook her head.

"And do you honestly think he's not gonna end up back working for me at some point?" Rio smiled as AJ looked at him.

"Then he'll have to live with that decision, and he'll never see me or his daughter again." AJ said, "That'll be on him."

Rio looked across at her and smiled a little, "I can forgive, April. I'll never forget." He nodded to her, "There will come a time, in the future, where you will need my help." He predicted, standing up from the table, "And I'm gonna smile in your face and send you on your way." He nodded.

"I don't need your help." AJ hissed as Rio nodded to himself.

"You know, I hope you and Phil work things out. You were good together." Rio nodded, noticing the photographs pinned to the fridge, "And he's a good guy." He nodded to himself as AJ looked over at him, "Don't use his mistakes to outshine all the horrible things you've done in your life too." He warned, "It's always easy to blame other people around us."

"Get out of my apartment." AJ warned as Rio put his hands up, looking across at her.

"Just be careful, April." Rio said coldly before leaving the apartment.

* * *

"_Quit it." AJ snapped with frustration, looking over at Dean lying on the floor, tapping the bars on the cell they were being held in, watching as he began to tap louder to annoy her, feeling her stomp on his leg as he groaned._

"_Hey, cut it out." Punk spat, looking up as he was laying across the seat at the back of the holding cell. _

"_She started it." Dean said childishly as AJ rolled her eyes, walking over to the bars, dangling her hands through and resting them on the lock as she watched the different cops going by._

"_Hey, can we leave?" AJ asked, watching as the cops around just ignored her, "I know you can all hear me!" AJ yelled as Punk and Dean looked over at her, "Scum." AJ scoffed, walking away from the bars._

"_Calm down." Punk told her as AJ collapsed down on the seat beside him._

"_This is your fault we're in here." Dean sat up, looking across at AJ._

"_How is this my fault?" AJ screwed her face up._

"_Because you got caught stealing shit and we had to jump in to defend you-"_

"_I wasn't caught. They just assumed I was stealing because of how I look." AJ said._

"_You were stealing." Punk pointed out._

"_Whose side are you on here?" AJ turned to him as Punk just groaned, lying back down and placing his cap over his face._

"_Well at least we have a place to sleep tonight." Dean rolled his eyes, leaning against the bars as AJ folded her arms, turning to Punk and watching him sleeping. It wasn't his first time in a jail cell, but it was hers. It wasn't even as scary as she thought it would be. It was almost like she enjoyed the nervous adrenaline she got from it. Nothing could really phase them at this point anyway._

"_How we getting out of here?" AJ asked._

"_I made a phone call." Punk muffled through his hat as AJ turned to him. _

"_To who?" AJ asked, taking his hat from his face and putting it on her head._

"_Alright kids, you're free to go." An officer approached the holding cell, opening it up as they all stood up and walked out of the cell one by one._

_They were taken out from the back and into the main area where AJ saw Rio standing at the desk signing different forms._

"_You called him?" AJ asked Punk._

"_Well what did you want me to do? Call my drunk mom?" Punk asked her as AJ looked at Punk._

"_Hello children." Rio said, watching the three of them walk out._

_AJ watched as Punk embraced Rio, and it was the first time she noticed how close they had actually become. Little by little she was starting to feel like they owed this man, and she didn't like that._

* * *

"Hey, man. You ok?" Dean asked, walking into the living room where Punk was sitting. The TV was on but he wasn't even looking at it.

"Y-Yeah." Punk nodded to him, "Yeah, I'm fine." He said as Dean nodded.

"The little one go down ok?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, she's fast asleep." Punk nodded, "I think you were right… well, you were right. AJ spoke to me about depression today."

"She did?" Dean asked as Punk nodded.

"Yeah. She also thinks she was a terrible mom… at the beginning." Punk said, "And I just… I can't stop thinking about her being all alone when she had Thea." He shook his head.

"Hey, I offered to be there for her. I told her I'd help out but she… she shut me out." Dean said as Punk sighed to himself.

"She was just trying to help me." Punk shook his head, "And… And you're right, I didn't deserve any help, especially not from her. I… I hurt her. Bad. And she still tried to find a way to help me." He realised. Being on his own gave him a lot of time to reflect. He was hurt about AJ speaking to the police, but looking at it in more detail, it was crazy that she was still trying to help him after what he did.

"She loves you." Dean shrugged, "Just because you hurt her doesn't mean she was gonna instantly hate you. She probably wishes she could but… that's not April. If there's one thing she can do, it's love you, even when she really shouldn't." Dean said as Punk sighed to himself.

"I just miss her." He shook his head, "I miss how we were. Before things started to go to shit." He said, "She thought that… Rio was the centre of all _my _problems but… I was the centre of all of hers." He shook his head as Dean looked across at him.

"You can't think that way. You two were happy for a very long time. Even with so little." Dean said, "I saw it first-hand." He nodded, "You just gotta let this whole thing run its course and hope that, once all the hurting is over, maybe you guys can still work something out."

"I just… I want to be there for her. She never gave up on me, even when she should have. So I'm not… I'm not giving up on her, or us." He shook his head. Trying to picture a life without having her with him was just impossible. There was so much to work through, but he couldn't ignore how loyal she had been to him, even when he definitely didn't deserve it.

"I wish it didn't have to be so complicated for you both." Dean nodded.

"Yeah, me too." Punk sighed to himself. It was hard to figure out where to go from here.


	27. Locked In

**Locked In**

* * *

"Hi, baby." AJ smiled, so excited to see Thea the next afternoon, taking her from Punk and holding her close into her chest, kissing the side of her head, "Oh, mommy missed you so much." AJ said as Punk watched with a smile. It was hard not to smile watching the unconditional love AJ had for their daughter, "Was she ok?" AJ asked, looking over at Punk.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Yeah, she was great." Punk said, "She stirred a little at 4am but I just gave her a cuddle and she fell back asleep." He nodded.

"Good." AJ nodded, "I'm glad she's always good for you." She said.

"She's no trouble." Punk smiled, "I love having her. And I know you probably appreciate the break."

"Well… yeah, but I do really miss her." AJ admitted, looking down at Thea in her arms.

"Did you get up to much?" He asked.

"Finished my book." AJ shrugged as Punk smiled, "What about you? Did you take her anywhere?" She asked.

"No, we just stayed in. I think Dean is really starting to enjoy being an uncle." Punk admitted as AJ smiled a little, "I wouldn't be lying if I told you I'm worried about his influence on our daughter's life."

"Yeah, I'm a little concerned about that too." AJ laughed a little as Punk smiled. It felt like such a long time since they laughed together, the way they used to laugh before, where their stomachs would hurt and their cheeks would be in pain.

"Well I'll get going." Punk nodded, "She's been pretty lively this morning so I think a nap is on the horizon."

"Oh, definitely." AJ said, cupping the back of Thea's little head. She couldn't deny what a wonderful father he was proving to be. She never thought he would have been awful, however, the way he had taken to fatherhood, the way he cared for Thea so well, it was the definition of a natural, and she was in love with that.

"I'll come by and pick her up tomorrow. Me and Dean have to go to the bank and run some errands so… she'll be joining us."

"Two men and a baby?" AJ smiled as Punk laughed a little.

"No more like one man, a baby and Dean." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds more fitting." AJ nodded, "Well I'll have her ready for you." She said as Punk nodded. It was nice just to be civil to one another, to forget about their massive fight. If anything, the fight had got a lot of things off both of their chests, it almost started to feel like the air was a little clearer, even though things were still very on edge.

"Ok." Punk nodded to himself, "Bye, sweetheart." He leaned over, kissing Thea's head as AJ smiled a little, watching him head for the door.

Punk walked to the apartment door and pulled down the handle, pulling the door open when instead, he pulled the handle off. His eyes widened, his teeth clamping together whilst cringing as he held the handle in his hand.

"Are you… ok?" AJ asked, not noticing what he had even done.

"We might… have a slight issue." Punk admitted, turning around and showing her the handle as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Well just… put it back on." AJ shook her head, walking over to him with Thea in her arms as Punk tried to put the handle back on.

"It won't go on." Punk groaned as AJ looked at it.

"How the hell did you pull it off?" AJ shook her head, not understanding, "Are you the hulk?" She exaggerated as Punk smiled like a child.

"I don't know, am I?" He smiled as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Take her, I'll try." AJ said as Punk took Thea from her, watching as AJ began to shake the door handle against the door, desperately trying to fix it as Punk watched, "Come on." AJ groaned with frustration.

"You'll have to call the superintendent for the building." Punk nodded as AJ groaned to herself.

"I can't." AJ shook her head.

"Why?" Punk questioned.

"Because I… I slapped him one time." AJ said as Punk looked at her, "And he told me he'd never come near my apartment ever again."

"Why'd you slap him?" Punk shook his head.

"He thought Thea was a boy." AJ said as Punk rolled his eyes.

"That's why you slapped him?" Punk asked.

"Yes." AJ looked at him, "And he also… called me a few horrible names." She said as Punk sighed.

"I'll call Dean and see if he can come unlock it from the other side." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"I'll try Kurt across the hall. He might be able to help too." AJ nodded, both of them desperate to find a solution as they called for help.

Punk called Dean who appeared to be out of town, whilst AJ called Kurt and received his answering machine. It wasn't ideal.

"Why don't I call the superintendent?" Punk asked, putting Thea down in her crib in the bedroom.

"He's not gonna come, trust me." AJ said.

"It was just a slap on the face." Punk shrugged as AJ looked up at him with a guilty look, "God, did you murder him or something?" He exaggerated.

"I… might have pushed him down the stairs." AJ shrugged as Punk put his hands on his hips.

"April." He shook his head.

"It was… it was an accident. I pushed him and… the stairs were just inconveniently in the way." She shrugged as Punk raised a brow, "He was really mean to me." AJ defended.

"Well what do you suggest we do here?" Punk asked her.

"Well… I don't know." AJ said, "You're just gonna have to wait until we can get a hold of someone." She said as Punk ran his hands through his hair, "Or jump out the window." She muttered under her breath.

"What?" Punk looked up.

"Nothing." AJ said casually as Punk walked over to the crib, looking on at Thea sleeping as she watched him, "I'm gonna tidy up the kitchen. You can just sit in the living room or sit here, whatever." AJ shrugged awkwardly as Punk just nodded, watching her walk away as he stood in the bedroom looking around.

* * *

"Phil, I was gonna start making dinner if you want-" She paused, walking into the living room later on where she saw Punk hanging out the window, "Phil, oh my God what are you doing?" AJ rushed over.

"It's fine." Punk waved his hand behind, "I'm just getting my pizza." He assured her calmly.

"What?" AJ shook her head, "You ordered pizza?"

"Yeah. You can have some if you like." Punk suggested.

"How are you doing this-" AJ walked over curiously, kneeling on the couch and looking out the window where the pizza man seemed to be putting a pizza box in a basket which Punk had attachment to.

"Is it in?!" Punk yelled out the window as the pizza man gave him a thumbs up, "If I drop this I will cry." He said to himself as AJ watched him pull the basket up with the pizza box in it.

"Is that the basket I use for Thea's toys?" AJ realised, looking over in the living room where the basket normally sat.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, concentrating on pulling the basket up, "I used that and also tied some of your clothes together to make a rope." He turned to her as she raised a brow.

"Such a street kid." AJ scoffed as Punk nodded.

"Ah ha." Punk smirked, bringing the pizza in the window, "Ok, I'm gonna put the money in the basket!" Punk yelled out the window, putting the money in the basket and lowering it back down, "You got it?" Punk yelled, watching people walking by looking at him, not that he cared.

"Got it!" The pizza man yelled back.

"Sweet." Punk smiled, pulling the basket back up and through the window.

"I could have made us something." AJ said.

"Well now you don't have to." Punk shrugged, "I won't eat all of this." He said as AJ looked at him, "Ok, so… maybe I could eat all of this, but I'll choose not to." He said, opening up the pizza box as AJ looked on. The pizza looked and smelt so good. She couldn't turn down good food.

"You tried calling Dean again?" AJ asked him, taking a slice of pizza as Punk sat the box between them on the couch.

"Yeah. He said he's not gonna be back in town for another couple hours." He shook his head.

"Yeah, I still can't get a hold of Kurt across the hall." AJ said.

"Are you friendly with him?" Punk asked, "I remember the night I got out I came here and he came out. Didn't look like a fan of mine." He remembered.

"Yeah I bitched about you a lot to him." AJ realised, "He's just a sweet old man." AJ nodded, "Better than the creeper we had before when you were still here."

"Oh, yeah… he was strange." Punk said as AJ nodded, "Didn't he put porn magazines-"

"Under our door." AJ laughed as Punk chuckled to himself, "Which I did see you look at." She tutted.

"I had to pick them up to put them in the trash, April." Punk laughed as she smiled.

"Could have closed your eyes-"

"I did. You made me and then I walked into the wall whilst you were screaming don't look at those naked women, in my ear." He said as AJ smiled to herself and nodded, "What happened to him?"

"He got evicted I think." AJ nodded, "Kurt moved in when I was like… five months pregnant or something." She said, "He was good, he always helped me upstairs if he saw me, or he carried my bags up. Helped build the crib because I had no clue what I was doing." She said as Punk nodded, "I guess he probably just felt sorry for me."

"I doubt it." Punk said, "You gotta stop thinking that people are judging you and looking down on you. What you've done is a brave thing. Having Thea on your own and raising her for the first few months. I couldn't imagine how scary it must have been." He said.

"It didn't get scary until she was actually here." AJ said, "The whole pregnant thing was fine." She shrugged.

"I still wish I could have been here for you." Punk nodded as she looked at him.

"Do you really think you would have left working for Rio? Hadn't you gone to prison?" She asked, putting her pizza crust down which he picked up and ate. It was how they always ate pizza. As soon as she finished her slice, she'd leave the crust for him.

"I knew I had fucked up back then." Punk said, "Yeah, prison did help me realise it even more but… it was when you found me with that girl and… I ran after you. I saw your face." He said, "That really opened my eyes to what I was doing. How much I was hurting you and… I wasn't even aware of it." He nodded, "I knew then that I was in a bad way and that I needed to get out." He nodded, "Before I would just make excuses to hide the fact that… I enjoyed doing it."

"Why did you enjoy it?" AJ questioned, "I always looked at it as something we just had to do for money but… that's when I realised you were changing." She said. It was the first time he had been honest like this, and she appreciated that.

"I just liked feeling important, I liked feeling needed somewhere-"

"What about me? I needed you." AJ said quietly, "Did you just get… fed up of me?"

"No, no it wasn't like that." Punk said, "You were like my escape." He nodded, "And then it got so bad that I couldn't even find the escape. I couldn't find you. I don't know… my brain was just melted." He shook his head as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, mine sort of felt like that too." AJ nodded, "I thought that if Rio was gone then you could have a better chance at getting back to yourself again. I never thought about the possibilities around it which… pretty dumb, I know." She sighed, throwing another crust down.

"It wasn't dumb." Punk admitted as she looked across at him, "Here I am, dickhead of the century, I'm treating you like a piece of shit and you… you still find it in your heart to help me."

"I figured that even if our relationship couldn't be the same after… what you did, I could still try and help you." She said.

"You know selfless that is?" Punk turned to her as she looked across at him.

"Can't turn off my feelings for you just because you were being a dick." AJ shrugged as Punk nodded to himself.

It was the first time where he actually felt like they were getting somewhere. Where they were agreeing and understanding one another. Neither of them could say this was finished. Every time their eyes met, neither wanted to turn away. There was very obviously something still there.

"I uh… I don't think I was as hungry as I thought." Punk realised.

"After all that trouble? Hanging out there like you were Rapunzel." AJ scoffed as Punk smiled.

"Yeah, she wishes she had my hair." Punk said as AJ chuckled. It was something she hadn't done a lot of the past while. Laugh. And sitting there, she felt like she was sixteen again, and everything was going to be ok.

"Are you finished?" AJ asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, both of them reaching for the box of the same time, hands clashing and getting tangled as they awkwardly pulled them back.

"Sorry." AJ rolled her eyes as Punk watched her.

"It's ok." He said softly as she looked up at him, both of them staring at one another.

There was a long, awkward pause of staring until Thea woke in the bedroom, crying up a storm as their eye connection was broken.

"I'll get her." AJ nodded.

"No, let me." Punk insisted, standing up and leaving the living room to go get Thea.

AJ took a deep breath, feeling her shoulders uptight and tense. He still had the ability to make her nervous, and she realised that meant she was letting him make her nervous. She was letting that guard down slowly, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.

She stood up, taking the pizza box with her to put in the kitchen, stopping on the way at her bedroom door where she looked in, watching Punk holding Thea in his arms, bouncing her lightly as AJ smiled to herself.

It was a glimpse of what they could have had, such a sweet glimpse. Yet it still terrified her.


	28. Still Hopeful

**Still Hopeful**

* * *

"How the hell did you break this?" Dean shook his head after eventually coming to the rescue later that night, managing to unlock the door from the outside.

"Are you stoned?" Punk noticed as Dean stumbled through the door.

"It's a Saturday night." Dean scoffed, "Yeah." He said, as if it was ridiculous he was even asking.

"I don't care, I'm just glad you came and unlocked the door." AJ said with relief.

"How long have you been locked in?" Dean asked.

"Since 1pm." Punk said as Dean smiled to himself.

"Surprised you both didn't end up screwing." He scoffed, "I need a piss." He announced, walking off into the bathroom as AJ looked over at Punk.

"Sorry about him." Punk scratched the back of his head.

"You're acting like I don't know him." AJ smiled, "Thank you for helping me with Thea's bath and putting her to sleep." She nodded. Surprisingly, being locked in the apartment with him wasn't so bad. They bathed Thea together and put her to sleep, and it felt nice just to forget about everything else going on.

"Maybe I'll start fucking with that lock every time I come by." Punk teased as AJ smiled. He noticed the change in the atmosphere when they were talking earlier. He was able to admit for the first time that he was in a bad place because he did foolishly enjoy working for Rio. He was disgusted with himself that he would enjoy something so wrong, so troubling, but the thrill of it all was something he enjoyed chasing. He could see by her reaction that she appreciated him admitting that to her.

"Do you want to take the rest of the pizza home?" AJ asked him.

"Pizza?" Dean walked out of the bathroom, zipping his fly back up, "You have pizza?" He asked as AJ nodded, "Don't mind if I do." He said, walking off into the kitchen to find the pizza they were talking about.

"Where was he?" AJ questioned as Punk shrugged.

"Dean, where'd you go?" Punk asked, walking into the kitchen as AJ walked in behind him.

"A lady friend of mine." Dean said, opening up the pizza box and taking a slice, "So what did you two get up to all this time? More yelling and fighting?" He smiled to them both. Since he was pretty high, he was saying a lot of which he wouldn't say if he wasn't high, as expected.

"No, we're fine." Punk assured him.

"Well, let me tell you both something." Dean said, "It's getting a little boring now." He said, "Just kiss and make up." He said, "It's you guys. And you got the little baby too. You guys could be a family." Dean said with enthusiasm as Punk just folded his arms whilst AJ looked down, "Oh, so… I'm making you feel awkward now but when I would walk in on you both having sex, you'd just keep going and not give a damn?" He questioned as AJ rolled her eyes.

"I think we should get you home." Punk suggested.

"Well I'm taking this pizza with me." Dean said, closing up the box and budging by them both as Punk rolled his eyes with embarrassment, turning to AJ who just smiled.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Punk nodded, "I'll come over after work."

"Yeah, sure." AJ nodded.

"Ok." He said, nodding to her before leaving the kitchen and grabbing a hold of Dean who was eating the box off of the box.

"You're so damn embarrassing." Punk scoffed, dragging Dean out of the apartment as AJ watched with an amused smile.

"What? Like she doesn't want your penis-"

"Dean." Punk shoved him watching him stumble forward.

"Don't push me." Dean moaned like a child whilst Punk closed the apartment door over, leaving AJ smiling to herself.

* * *

Later that night, AJ was getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. She had to use a pin to open it up where she saw Kurt standing.

"Oh, hey." AJ smiled.

"Hi, I noticed I had some calls from you earlier. Are you ok?" Kurt asked her.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm good." AJ nodded, "It's just this stupid door. The handle came off and I got stuck in here… with my ex." She rolled her eyes as Kurt cringed.

"That's not good." Kurt said.

"Surprisingly, it wasn't too terrible." AJ admitted.

"I have a spear handle in my place, it's enough to fix." He said casually, strolling across to his place.

"You just have spear handles lying around?" AJ laughed a little once he returned with some tools.

"Well funny enough, mine came off a couple months ago and I had a few." Kurt said, crouching down and attempting to fix the handle as AJ stood, "So… you and your ex, huh? I see him over a lot."

"Well he mostly just comes to pick Thea up and take her for the night or the day." AJ nodded, "It's not been the easiest." She shook her head.

"Well I wouldn't think so. Ex drama is not fun." He said.

"You had a lot exes Kurt?" AJ smiled a little.

"Well, a few." Kurt shrugged, "How do you really feel about this guy?"

"Really?" AJ thought to herself, leaning against the wall, "I can't imagine him not in my life." AJ shrugged, "And I know he's always gonna be there because of Thea." She nodded.

"And how do you feel about that?" Kurt asked, unscrewing the lock on the door.

"I don't know." AJ said, "He's… he's a real good dad. I know it's only been a couple months but he's… he's so great with her. And it's nice not to be in this alone anymore. I can actually talk to someone about being a parent." She said as Kurt nodded, "I just… I don't want to go… there with him, you know?"

"You seem scared." Kurt nodded as AJ sighed to herself.

"I am scared." AJ nodded.

"Of what?" Kurt asked.

"History repeating itself. He got himself into the trouble the last time. Who is to say it won't happen again?" AJ asked, "I don't wanna be the fool who says… let's give this a go and then… I'm right back where I started before." She said.

"Maybe he's changed." Kurt said.

"Well he definitely has. I can see it. He's the guy I fell in love with again, which is making all of this very difficult." She nodded.

"Well don't deprive yourself." Kurt said, "You obviously have a connection with this guy. You obviously love him. It wouldn't be this hard and complicated if you didn't love him." He said, "Love is hard."

"Yeah, tell me about it." AJ sighed, "I just don't want to go through all of that again." She shook her head, "But when I'm with him… it is like before. Before it all went to shit. I feel safe again. Like things actually might be ok." She nodded as Kurt looked at her.

"Don't be mad at yourself for wanting to be with him again." Kurt said.

"I'm not mad at myself." AJ scoffed.

"You totally are." Kurt noticed, "It's easier to pretend that you don't care, than to lay your heart back on the line." He said, "And you're not a stupid person if you do decide to get back with him. He's obviously very important to you." He said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, he is." AJ sighed, "I just… I'm not gonna find what I have with him… with anyone else." She shrugged.

"Maybe you don't have to." Kurt said.

"Do you think it's dumb?" AJ asked, "I mean he… he's recognising what he did was wrong. That's important to me. it means he knows what hurt me and… I feel like he's really grown. I know it's just been a year but… he's really grew up. He has priorities, responsibilities, he's a lot more serious about things… but in a good way."

"Well I reckon prison probably helped him out. Yeah, it's a scary place but he probably learned a lot. Saw a lot. He's young. I doubt he wants to ruin his life with crime and chaos. And he's got a kid now." Kurt said, "That stuff changes you."

"I'm just scared of things going to shit again." AJ nodded, "I know it's different but… we were good before and then… it went downhill so quickly. I barely had time to try and help him." She said.

"If he's recognising his mistakes, he's not a bad person." Kurt said, "It means he can learn from then and grow… like you said." He nodded.

"And he has a job now. And he actually… he seems to be enjoying it." AJ thought to herself. It was the first time was getting to talk to someone about everything. It really helped get things off her chest.

"That's good. Did he have a real job before?" Kurt asked, screwing the handle back on.

"For a few weeks and then he got fired." AJ shrugged as Kurt nodded, "He just seems like he's in a good place."

"Well maybe… it's something you might wanna talk to him about?" Kurt suggested.

"I don't know." AJ shook her head nervously.

"It's normal to be scared. It's like… getting back into the car after a bad car accident. You're gonna be a little on edge, a little anxious, watching everything around you more carefully… it's normal to protect yourself after what happened." Kurt nodded.

"I just don't know what we would do." AJ shrugged, "We were so tight before. And I mean… what would we do now? Date?" AJ shook her head, "Have a first kiss again?" She scoffed.

"Well no, you're just… starting over. You guys were kids, you still are, there's a lot to be learned and… if you love each other, there's no reason for you not to learn together."

"I don't know, I'm scared." AJ said childishly as Kurt smiled.

"It's what you want." Kurt nodded, "Your decision."

* * *

"Alright, just go straight to bed." Punk said, eventually getting home with Dean who was still holding the pizza box.

"No, man. I gotta eat." Dean scoffed, tripping up into the living room and collapsing on the couch as Punk groaned and followed him, "Did you have sex?" Dean asked him as Punk shook his head.

"No, we didn't have sex." Punk said, "Although-"

"Oh, I like although." Dean tuned in whilst finishing the pizza.

"She seems a little more… I don't know, loose." Punk nodded, "It wasn't as awkward as it usually is. She was actually talking to me." He said, "And we were laughing."

"Laughing leads to sex." Dean hummed.

"Dean, we didn't have sex." Punk snapped.

"Did you wanna have sex?" Dean smiled as Punk looked at him.

"Well let's see, I haven't got laid in a year, I'm still in love with her, I'm still attracted to her… that would be a yes." Punk nodded, "Not the point… I think she appreciated me telling her that I enjoyed working for Rio." He said.

"Women like honesty." Dean nodded to himself as Punk looked at him.

"Speaking of… who is your lady friend?" Punk asked.

"None of your damn business." Dean said, starting to fall asleep a little.

"Ok." Punk said, "Well I'm going to bed." He announced.

"With who?" Dean asked drunkenly, falling asleep, giving himself whiplash on the couch as he began nodding off.

"With no one." Punk shook his head, "Just sleep here for the night." He said, taking the pizza box off him.

"Renee, baby I gotta go my brothers locked in, man." Dean hummed with his eyes closed, falling asleep as Punk rolled his eyes but smirked.

"Renee huh?" Punk said curiously, "Goodnight, bud." He said, scratching Dean's head on the way by as he headed for bed, a little more hopeful than usual.


	29. Laundry Day

**Laundry Day**

* * *

"Honey, you need some help?" An woman asked AJ who was loading a ton of washing into the machine at the laundrette.

"Oh, no… I'm ok." AJ smiled politely, even though she was having a hard time switching all her laundry around. She still couldn't get the hang of separating the dark clothes from the light, and it didn't help that she had so much to do.

"Oh, you have the cutest baby." She smiled, looking into the stroller as AJ smiled, "What's her name?" She asked.

"Thea." AJ smiled, "She's four months old." She nodded.

"Oh, she's the sweetest." The woman smiled, discreetly digging into AJ's bag which was hanging over the stroller, grabbing her wallet just as AJ turned around.

"What the hell are you doing?" AJ narrowed her brows, dropping the laundry basket as she looked at the woman angrily. She then watched as the woman immediately ran for the door.

"Hey!" AJ yelled, running after her, pausing once she got to the door as she looked back at the stroller. If this was before, she would have ran as fast as she could, and she would have definitely caught the woman, but there was no way she would leave Thea.

"Shit." AJ spat angrily, walking back into the laundrette, running her hands through her hair, walking back to the machine she was using and collapsing on one of the seats. She had her rent money in her wallet to pay as well as the money she needed for the laundrette.

"God." AJ sighed to herself, running her hands over her face with frustration, not knowing what to do. Times like these really tested her, and she'd had a lot of moments like this over the past year.

"April?" Punk questioned, walking into the laundrette with his basket.

AJ looked up, turning around as she saw him walking over to her, "Oh, hey." AJ nodded.

"Hey." Punk said, "What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Someone just stole my wallet… right out of my bag." AJ shook her head.

"What?" Punk shook his head angrily, "Just now?" He asked, about to leave the laundrette to chase down anyone.

"No, she's gone." AJ shook her head.

"You let her get away?" Punk questioned as AJ looked up at him.

"Hey, remember that time we had sex and my birth control never worked?" AJ pointed to the stroller as Punk smiled a little, "I couldn't run out and leave her." She sighed.

"Right." Punk nodded, "Of course." He shook his head, not thinking.

"My rent for this month was in there. And all the money I needed for in here." AJ shook her head, "I'm so screwed." She shook her head as Punk sat his basket down.

"I can help you out." Punk nodded as AJ looked up at him, "I'll cover the rent and anything you need done here." He said.

"No, I can't expect you to do that-"

"You don't have to expect me. Just let me." He shrugged as AJ sighed to herself, "Hey, it'll be fine." He nodded calmly, nudging her shoulder. He knew if he made a big deal about it, it would stress her out. Of course he didn't mind helping her out. It actually felt good to be able to contribute, especially when he hadn't been here for a year.

"Since when did you do your own laundry anyway?" AJ scoffed.

"Since we don't got a machine at our place." Punk said, opening up a machine and dumping his things into it.

"Oh… Phil, you have white in with dark clothes." She pointed out.

"Huh?" Punk turned to her.

"There's a blue t-shirt there. And you got your whites all over the place." She stood up as Punk stepped back.

"Does it make a difference?" Punk questioned.

"Well yeah, it'll dye your white clothes." She laughed.

"Oh… oh, is that why my white stuff keeps going like weird grey and mixed colours?" He realised as AJ smiled a little and nodded.

"Maybe it is, yeah." AJ chuckled a little, "Ok, so just put the white stuff in that basket, and the dark stuff in this one." She nodded.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "Is this classed as dark?" He asked, holding up a dark blue t-shirt.

"Does it look dark to you?" AJ asked him as Punk nodded to himself, throwing it in the right basket, "I thought you were working today."

"I was. I'm finished." Punk laughed a little, "I started at 4am."

"That's the middle of the night." AJ shook her head with confusion.

"Well yeah, the shifts are super crazy, but I actually don't mind it." He nodded, "Some things need to be done at that time, electric reasons, pedestrian reasons." He said as AJ nodded.

"Look at you, all job happy." AJ smiled, "It's… it's nice to see."

"You mean different?" Punk asked.

"Nice different." AJ nodded.

"Well that's good." He nodded with a smile as she looked up at him, "So you uh… you do your laundry every week or-"

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Unless it's an emergency." She said.

"Hey, maybe you should call the cops about your wallet." He said, separating his clothes up.

"I think that might be a little hypocritical." AJ nodded.

"How?" Punk shook his head.

"Hello… it's me." AJ said, "They put drawings of me up at the L stops making people aware of a thief on the loose." AJ rolled her eyes as Punk chuckled.

"Well… it's still not ok." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"I'll pay you back." AJ nodded.

"Don't worry about it. Really." He said as AJ nodded.

"So has Dean recovered from last night?" AJ asked him, leaning over the stroller to check on Thea who was still fast asleep.

"Yeah, he started work at 9. I think he was still high to be honest." Punk admitted, "I don't care, as long as he's not going overboard." He nodded, "He can do what he likes."

"He's not as dumb as everyone thinks he is." AJ nodded.

"I don't know, he can be pretty dumb sometimes." Punk said as AJ smiled, "I'm kinda interested in this lady friend he has. I think her name is Renee."

"Oh, that sounds fancy." AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Well… he goes and gets stoned with her so I don't think name is a good reflection really." Punk admitted.

"I'm sure she's nice." AJ said, "Plus, it's Dean, he probably has a different lady friend every week." She shook her head.

"That is true." Punk nodded, suddenly listening as Thea began to stir in her stroller.

"She's gonna need fed." AJ sighed, "I've been in here so long." She rolled her eyes as Punk looked over.

"Well hey, you feed her and I'll do these washings. You can supervise, make sure that my whites are where they're supposed to be. I'll do yours too." He said as AJ smiled.

"Thank you." AJ nodded, scooping Thea up out of the stroller, "Oh, hi baby." AJ smiled, "Hi." She soothed, wandering over to the desk and asking for Thea's bottle to be warmed whilst Punk carried on with the laundry.

She turned around whilst waiting, watching as he separated the clothes up and put coins in the machines, bouncing Thea in her arms lightly. Now that she'd got everything off her chest, it was hard to keep that guard up, especially when she'd always felt so comfortable around him before.

* * *

"No way. I was not considering it." AJ scoffed, holding Thea in her arms, sitting on the bench whilst Punk sat beside her, an hour later.

"You totally were. Back when you were obsessed with collecting stones. Very strange." Punk nodded.

"Very good weapons." AJ corrected, "Plus all we did then was sit on the kerbs. Remember? That was the really long street period." She said.

"Oh, yeah. And Dean got his foot stuck in that drain. We had to get the fire brigade out." He laughed to himself as AJ smiled, looking across at him as he smiled.

"Yeah that was… that part was fun." She nodded to him as he smiled.

"Dean probably didn't think so." Punk said.

"No, he was laughing." AJ remembered, "If anyone can laugh at themselves, it's Dean." She nodded as Punk smiled, "You know I really regret not letting him be there for me."

"Yeah, he really wishes he could have been there." Punk nodded.

"I just… I felt like I needed to be on my own. Looking back I probably needed the help more but… I just knew he'd wanna talk about you, and he reminds me of you obviously."

"That's a little weird." Punk laughed.

"Not like that." AJ scoffed, "Well you're his brother so… obviously he's gonna talk about you. And I knew he was seeing you at prison visits and I was just… I was trying to avoid it all." She shook her head, "He's her uncle... I didn't have a right to do that." AJ sighed, looking down at Thea who was sleeping in her arms after having her bottle earlier.

They'd spent the hour just talking. It was yet again another hour or so that they actually spent laughing together and acting like normal, it was bizarre but also extremely nice.

"I don't think he's too mad about it." Punk assured her as AJ nodded, "Don't you just love her hands?" He asked, taking Thea's hand in his, "They're so tiny. She's so tiny." He said as AJ smiled.

"I think our stuff is done." AJ noticed.

"Oh, yeah." Punk nodded, standing up and walking over to the machine.

"I can get mine." AJ said.

"No, it's ok. I'll get it." He nodded, opening up the machines and folding the laundry back up into the basket, "See… look how tiny." He held up a onesie as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Are you still coming by later to see her?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, if that's ok." Punk said, leaning into the machine and reaching for a sock at the back.

"You could stay for dinner if you like." AJ stood up, watching as he hit his head inside the machine, stepping back, "Are you ok?" AJ laughed a little.

"Dinner?" Punk asked, rubbing his now painful head.

"Y-Yeah." AJ nodded, "You could just stay and put her to bed, you might as well." AJ shrugged as Punk looked across at her.

"Are you ok with that?" Punk asked.

"Would I ask if I wasn't?" AJ said as Punk nodded.

"Ok… yeah." Punk shrugged, trying to play it cool.

"It's the least I can do after you helping me out today with rent and the laundry money-"

"I told you that it's fine, I-"

"I know." AJ nodded as he looked across at her. He could see she was nervous for some reason, and he assumed she was probably asking herself if this was the right thing she was doing. It was obvious she was scared of getting close to him again, and quite honestly, he was too. A lot had happened, a lot had changed, but the fact they were getting along so well again, after all the shouting and the bickering, it was such a breath of fresh air.

"Ok, I'll be there." Punk smiled.

"Great." AJ nodded, putting Thea down into her stroller as Punk watched with a smile.

"I'll… I'll see you later then." He nodded, lifting his basket up as AJ fixed hers and nodded.

"Yeah, ok." AJ nodded calmly as he smiled.

"And you too." He hummed, leaning over the stroller and giving Thea a kiss, turning around and watching as AJ folded up her laundry, smiling to himself as he headed off for the door. Things were definitely taking a good swerve, without either of them even trying. It was natural. It always had been.


	30. Dinner

**Dinner**

* * *

"She invited you around for dinner?" Dean asked, sitting at the kitchen table eating from a bag of chips.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "It was great, we spent hours at the laundry place just talking." Punk shook his head as Dean chuckled to himself, "What?" Punk looked at him.

"Oh, nothing… just, I've never saw you like this. It's fun." Dean smiled.

"Like what?" Punk asked.

"I don't know, obsessed with a girl. All loopy and in love." Dean said, "Very amusing." He nodded to him.

"It's not like I've found this new person, though. It's April." Punk said.

"I know but before you guys sort of just… happened. There was no slow burn or waiting around. It got heated quickly and you two were just tight from then on." Dean said, "This is all way more interesting."

"I'm glad it's all very amusing to you." Punk nodded.

"Yeah me too." Dean said.

"So when are you going back to visit Renee?" Punk asked casually as Dean looked across at him, "Your stoner friend."

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Dean sniggered to himself as Punk nodded.

"Oh, really? Must be a fictional person that high you came up with." Punk nodded as Dean scoffed.

"Alright, she's some girl I met and I actually do like her." Dean admitted as Punk looked over at him.

"You say that like it's a problem." Punk laughed a little.

"I just don't wanna mess it up. I've been seeing her for a couple months now and… it's going well." Dean nodded.

"She's not like a drug addict or anything, though?" Punk worried.

"No, no she's all good in that area." Dean nodded, "She's got a job, her own place, I mean sometimes we get high but… nothing wrong with it every once and a while." Dean shrugged as Punk chuckled to himself and nodded, "What do you think I should do?"

"Huh?" Punk looked at him.

"Well we've been just seeing each other for a while and it's just sort of on the same tier." Dean said.

"You sleeping with her?" Punk asked.

"Well obviously." Dean scoffed as Punk rolled his eyes.

"Well if you like her, take her out, see her more often… I don't know. Don't ask me for advice on relationships. I've been in one and the whole thing didn't go in the greatest of directions." Punk said as Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I definitely don't wanna end up like you." Dean laughed as Punk nodded.

"Thanks." Punk scoffed.

"What's all this money for?" Dean asked, noticing some cash on the kitchen counter.

"It's for April." Punk said, "Someone stole her wallet at the laundrette today so I'm helping her out with rent."

"Oh, you sweet boy." Dean exaggerated, "So that's why she's making you dinner."

"Well I don't think it's just because of that. We had a really good talk today. It was like how it was before. And she helped me with my laundry. Did you know you shouldn't put dark stuff in with light stuff-"

"Is that why my white t-shirts keep turning a weird grey colour?" Dean asked angrily, "You are so dumb. Even I know how to do washings." He shook his head.

"Well I know now." Punk rolled his eyes.

"What do you think she's making for dinner?" Dean thought to himself, "I could eat some lasagne right now." He said dreamily, staring into the distance as Punk shook his head.

"I don't know." Punk shrugged, "Should I bring her something?"

"Like what?" Dean asked.

"I don't know… maybe flowers?" Punk wondered.

"Why you gotta overthink everything?" Dean shook his head as Punk folded his arms, "You don't gotta bring anything, "I mean you're covering her rent this month, I think that's good enough."

"Well I don't mind doing that. Thea lives there too and she's my kid. I should be helping out." Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Dean said, "Hey, do you realise you and April are gonna be the cool young parents? When Thea goes to school you guys will still be super young." He said.

"Ah yes, I've always wanted to be a cool young parent." Punk nodded sarcastically as Dean scoffed.

"Well I think it'll be fun." Dean said, "I could use a mini side kick."

"You leave my kid alone." Punk warned as Dean chuckled.

* * *

"What's with all the crying?" Punk asked, walking into AJ's apartment, hearing Thea crying loudly from the bedroom.

"Oh, it's fine. I just took her out the bath." She said as Punk chuckled a little and nodded.

"She's just not a fan of leaving the bath, is she?" Punk said.

"No, she really isn't. I swear her little hands were digging into me on purpose." AJ nodded as Punk smiled, "Do you wanna go see to her? I'll check on dinner."

"Sure." Punk nodded, walking on into the bedroom where Thea was laying on the bed after AJ had put her diaper on, "Hey, you." Punk smiled, "What's all this crying for, huh?" He asked, picking her up and holding her in his arms, "You can't stay in the bath forever." He said, sitting down on the bed.

He sat with her a little before getting her ready for bed, putting her in her onesie and looking around for her pacifier.

"Where is this pacifier?" Punk hummed to himself, looking around the bedroom. The room had definitely changed since he was living here. Most of it was filled with Thea's things, "Where'd mommy put it, huh?" He said, looking around the room, opening up some drawers.

He made his way over to the bedside table, opening it up and rummaging around. He only did so because AJ had said countless times that it was ok, especially when he was searching for something for Thea.

He rummaged through, suddenly hearing something starting to vibrate as he shook his head, picking up the vibrating item as he suddenly realised what it was, "Oh." He raised his eyebrows, hearing AJ coming and throwing it back in, slamming the drawer shut.

"Hey, she ok?" AJ walked into the room, hearing a buzzing noise as Punk groaned to himself.

"Uh… I need her pacifier. I'm looking for it." Punk said as AJ looked over to her bedside drawer, her eyes widening as she realised what was making the buzzing noise.

"Uh… that's just my… electric razor." AJ said, realising how lame she sounded as she stood over in front of the drawer whilst Punk just nodded.

"Mhm… ok." He said, watching her dig into the drawer, blocking his view as she switched the device off.

"Her pacifier is over there on the cabinet." AJ pointed as Punk looked over and nodded.

"Ok, I'll get her down." Punk nodded.

"Ok." AJ said, feeling her cheeks going red as she quickly left the room whilst Punk raised his eyebrows.

"Ok, little one." Punk shook his head, turning his attention back to Thea, picking her up and giving her the pacifier as he cradled her in his arms, getting her to sleep, "Sweet dreams." He smiled, putting her down in her crib, watching as her little arms went over her head.

He left the bedroom once Thea was peacefully at sleep, walking into the kitchen where it smelt really good.

"You're good with spaghetti, right?" AJ asked as Punk smiled and nodded.

"You know I'll eat anything." Punk nodded, "It smells really good." He said, walking over to the table and sitting down, "I never took you for the cooking type." He admitted.

"Well… I figured, I'm a mom now." AJ nodded, "And I want my kid to grow up having actual proper dinner." She said, "Not the way I grew up with take-outs and other people's leftovers." She said as Punk nodded, "I figured I start practising now for when she starts eating solid food." She said, sitting the food down and taking a seat at the table.

"So maybe I should start learning then." Punk realised.

"Yeah, maybe." AJ smiled, "It's just so expensive to buy good food at the store. All the crap is cheap and the healthy stuff is like double the price. Makes no damn sense." She shook her head as Punk nodded.

"Before I forget, here's the rent." Punk said, taking out an envelope and sitting it over on the kitchen counter.

"Thank you so much." AJ nodded, "I don't know what I would have done." She shook her head.

"Hey, just ask me. If there's anything you need. It's not an issue. Ok?" He nodded.

"Ok." AJ smiled, "I was actually thinking about going back to work." AJ nodded, "I know it's gonna be a little difficult, but I mean… even if it's just part-time."

"Yeah, that's good." Punk nodded, "Well I can make my shifts late nights or super early, so I can watch Thea whilst you work."

"I don't wanna dictate anything." AJ said timidly.

"Hey, it's not dictating. We'll make it work." Punk assured her, "Where was it you worked again?"

"Just a coffee shop a few blocks away. They gave me the job when I was pregnant. I wasn't there long but they were really nice to me. Said when I'm feeling good to work again that I could come back." She said as Punk nodded.

"Did you like working there?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, it was ok. Pay wasn't amazing but… money is money. Every little helps." She said as Punk nodded.

"Well let me know what kind of shifts you'd be doing and I'll work around you." Punk nodded.

"Thank you." AJ said as he nodded.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but… what are you gonna do when Thea gets bigger and she… she needs to sleep in a bed?" Punk asked curiously.

"I guess she would have to sleep beside me." AJ nodded, "It's not like I can afford a new place." She said, "I honestly try not to think that far ahead." She admitted as Punk nodded.

"I always pictured us getting a house one day." He admitted truthfully as AJ looked up.

"You did?" AJ asked as he nodded, "When?"

"Before I went to prison. When we would stay in motels and crash at people's houses." He said, "I just pictured us having a good life. I figured we deserved it after all the shit we went through."

"What else did you picture?" AJ asked curiously.

"Us being married." He nodded as she raised her eyebrows, "And we'd get a dog, to give us some responsibility but not too much. And then… eventually kids." He said, "I guess we did it a little backwards."

"I didn't know you thought about stuff like that." AJ admitted.

"Yeah, well this was before I was really working with Rio." Punk said, "When I started working with him I was just thinking about the money, what was going on the next night at the job… I lost sight of everything." He shook his head as AJ nodded.

"You did." AJ nodded. She wasn't going to pretend that what he did was ok now that she was letting him back in again. Nothing could ever change what he did, but she definitely believed in second chances, more so now than ever.

"So is this… just… a friend dinner or…" Punk said. He wasn't shy in asking. He wanted to know where her head was at, he couldn't guess what she was thinking.

"I don't know." AJ admitted, "It's a… let's just talk dinner." She shrugged as Punk nodded slowly.

"Is there desert?" He smiled as AJ raised her eyebrow, "Too soon?" He realised, "I'm sorry, that was just a joke-"

"Calm down." AJ chuckled a little, "There's a cupcake in the fridge we can split if you're that desperate for a desert." She nodded as he smiled to himself.

"Well that's good to know." Punk nodded.

"That's the only desert you're gonna find here." She pointed her fork at him as Punk laughed to himself as she smiled.

"That's fair enough." He smiled to himself.


	31. Putting It Out There

**Putting It Out There**

* * *

"Why are you all chipper?" Dean asked, walking into the kitchen the next morning yawning, his hair a mess, having just woken up. The radio was on and Punk was making breakfast, which normally didn't happen.

"No reason." Punk hummed as Dean sat down at the table.

"Did you get laid last night?" Dean wondered.

"No." Punk scoffed.

"Then there is no reason for you to be this happy." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just happy that things went well with me and April. We got through a full dinner without fighting or bringing up the past. And it was nice." Punk said, "Really nice." He said as Dean nodded.

"Well that's good, man." Dean nodded tiredly.

"She's talking about going back to work so I was thinking I could speak to Kofi and try work out a schedule, so I can fit it around whenever April is working." Punk said.

"Kofi will be sweet with that." Dean nodded, "Just talk to him about it and he'll sort it out for you." He said as Punk nodded.

"Really feels like things are going well." Punk admitted positively, "Maybe we needed to yell and scream at each other to… to move past it all. Things felt easier after we had that huge fight. She got a lot off her chest, I got a lot off my chest." He nodded.

"Well maybe that's enough for you guys to move on, however you both want to." Dean said.

"Well when I asked her what was going on with us she just gave me a brief answer." Punk said, "I asked her what the dinner was about and she just said she wanted to talk But that's good enough for me right now." He said, "I also… asked if there was desert."

"Tell me you're kidding." Dean looked at him as Punk shook his head.

"I got a cupcake." Punk nodded to him.

"Not the best kind of cake, but… I'm sure it made do." Dean nodded to him as Punk laughed a little, thinking to himself, "You thinking about sex right now?" Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Man I'm thirsty." Punk shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face as Dean chuckled.

"Is that bacon?" Dean noticed, "Plate me up." He nodded.

* * *

"April." Punk called, walking into the apartment. He had knocked a few times but she hadn't answered, so he felt it was ok to walk in, he knew she wouldn't mind, "Ape?" Punk called, closing the door over behind him and walking down the hall, strolling into the bedroom where he saw her standing with a towel wrapped around her laying out clothes.

"Hey." Punk gulped as AJ looked up.

"Hey." AJ nodded, "Sorry, I must have still been in the bathroom when you knocked." AJ realised as Punk nodded, trying to keep looking down, half turning away from her as she laughed a little, "I do have a towel around me." She assured him as he nodded.

"Yeah, I know that." Punk said.

"Thea is still napping." AJ nodded, looking over at the crib as Punk walked over.

"Sleepy today, huh?" Punk nodded.

"Yeah. She didn't sleep very well last night." AJ said as Punk frowned, stroking Thea's cheek softly as she slept so sweetly in her crib.

"Poor baby." Punk said as AJ smiled.

"She'll wake up soon." AJ figured.

He then turned around and noticing her bear still on the bed, "You haven't threw this thing in the trash yet?" Punk laughed, reaching over for the bear and chuckling.

"Ms Cuddles?" AJ said, "Of course not. I'm gonna give her to Thea when she's older." AJ nodded.

"Really? This thing's gotta be carrying a lot of germs." He nodded.

"Are you saying I'm dirty?" AJ shook her head.

"No." Punk said immediately, "No, I just mean… well, the bear has been around. Remember when you left him-"

"Her." AJ snapped.

"Her." Punk corrected, "When you left her at the rest stop toilets and you made me walk all the way back to get her?" He said, sitting the bear back down on the bed.

"Yeah." AJ smiled to herself, "But she has been through the wash since then." AJ laughed as Punk just nodded, "Do you mind… going into the living room whilst I get changed?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Punk nodded, walking off out of the bedroom and into the living room.

He didn't wait long until she appeared in some clothes, "So I spoke to my old boss at the coffee shop today." She said, "She's gonna give me my old job back." She nodded.

"Oh, good." Punk nodded, "So when do you start?" He asked.

"Next Friday." AJ said, "But… she's put me on closing. She said those are the only shifts going, the only shifts she could give me. Means I won't be home until 10pm-"

"Hey, that's cool… I can cover early shifts and be there for Thea at night." Punk nodded.

"Would that be ok?" AJ asked.

"Sure. That's perfect." Punk nodded, "We'll work it out." He said as AJ nodded.

"I wouldn't be able to do this if you weren't here to help with Thea." AJ said as Punk looked at her, "Thank you." She nodded.

"Hey, I love spending time with Thea. And I think it's good that you're going back to work." He said as AJ nodded.

"Me too." AJ nodded as Punk smiled. He loved seeing her so positive and upbeat. He wanted to help any way he could, and seeing that smile on her face was so wonderful.

* * *

"Phil! She keeps spitting up." Dean groaned, holding Thea in his arms a week later, feeding her in the kitchen whilst Punk walked through, walking over.

"That's not her spitting up." Punk scoffed, "She's just… dribbling a little." Punk shrugged, "She's a baby."

"It's getting all over me." Dean said.

"I leave you with her for one second so I can go pee." Punk shook his head, grabbing a wipe and wiping the spilled milk around Thea's face.

"She is a cute little thing, isn't she?" Dean nodded to himself.

"Well I think so." Punk nodded.

"When does AJ finish?" Dean asked.

"She said she'd be here around nine. So… any time." Punk said, "I hope her first day went ok." He nodded.

A week had gone by and AJ was starting back at her old job again. They'd came to an agreement that whilst AJ had Thea during the day whilst Punk worked, he would have her at night whilst AJ worked. It was a pretty comfortable position for them both that worked.

"I bet she misses Thea." Dean nodded, "You guys talked any more about… what's going on?" Dean asked, looking up at Punk.

"No, not really." Punk said, "I don't wanna come across pushy or anything. Maybe there's nothing going on and I'm just imagining it."

"There's never nothing going on with you two." Dean said, "She's still got feelings for you, and you're doing everything right. You've been great since you got out of prison. Keeping a job down, you're amazing with Thea… she'll notice all of that." He said as Punk nodded.

"Do you think it'd be too forward if I asked her out on a date?" Punk asked as Dean looked at him, "You could watch Thea for the night." He said as Dean shrugged.

"You think she'd want to go on a date?" Dean asked.

"Well I don't know, that's why I'm gonna ask. It's hard to tell what she's thinking. I never went through this with her before because… when we met we just-"

"Started fucking right away." Dean nodded.

"Please don't swear in front of my baby." Punk rolled his eyes, "Well… yeah, we got in right away and there was no working towards anything."

"Well now you have a challenge." Dean nodded just as there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Punk said, leaving the kitchen and walking off towards the door, opening it up where AJ was standing.

"Hey." AJ smiled, "Sorry I'm a little late, I missed my bus." She shook her head as Punk shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." Punk said, letting her in and closing the door over, "Thea's just woke up there. She didn't finish all of her bottle earlier so Dean is giving her the rest of it now."

"Has she been ok?" AJ asked.

Her first day of work had gone well, but she couldn't stop thinking about her baby girl. It was difficult for her to get used to not being around twenty four seven. But she trusted Punk with her of course.

"She's been great." Punk nodded, "So how was your first day?" He asked her.

"It was good." AJ said, "It felt so different being out for most of the day." She shook her head, walking into the kitchen as Punk followed, "Oh, hi baby." AJ smiled so big, seeing Thea in Dean's arms.

"She just finished the rest of her bottle." Dean said as AJ picked Thea up into her arms for a cuddle.

"Mama missed you so much." AJ said, kissing Thea's little head as Dean smiled.

"How did the job go?" Dean asked her.

"It was good." AJ nodded, "Everyone is super sweet there, makes me feel at ease." She said as Dean nodded.

"Good. I'm glad." Dean smiled, "I'm gonna take a shower, I'll see you later." He said, kissing Thea on the cheek whilst also sticking one on AJ who laughed a little.

"So what did you get up to?" AJ asked, turning around to Punk.

"Not much. Gave her a bath, she slept a little and Dean played with her on her little mat. I think she amuses him." Punk said.

"Well he's easily amused." AJ chuckled a little.

"So the first day went well?" Punk asked as AJ nodded.

"Yeah. I wasn't really sure if this was the right decision. If it was too soon. But... maybe I need this. It was nice just to be out and doing something, keeping my mind focused on something."

"I'll need to come get a coffee from you one day." Punk said as AJ smiled.

"Well, I better get home with this one." AJ said, "Is her bag in-"

"Do you want to go out on a… date?" Punk asked as AJ looked over at him. He wasn't a nervous person, but this was making him nervous.

"A date?" AJ questioned as Punk nodded.

"Yeah. Just… me and you." He said, "Dean could watch Thea for a couple hours." He nodded as AJ looked across at him, "We can pretend that we're just meeting for the first time." He suggested as AJ smiled a little.

"Ok." AJ nodded as Punk raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah?" Punk smiled.

"Yeah, ok." AJ smiled.

"Ok… uh… how about this weekend?" He asked, "Saturday?"

"Ok." AJ nodded, "Dean can come around to my place and watch Thea." She said as Punk nodded.

"Sure." Punk said, "Ok. Where do you wanna go?"

"Surprise me." AJ nodded, holding Thea in her arms as the baby girl started to fall asleep, "I better get home. Thank you for watching her." She said as Punk nodded, watching her walk out of the kitchen and eventually leave the apartment as he ran out of the kitchen and banged on the bathroom door.

"What?" Dean snapped angrily through the sound of the shower.

"I got a date!" Punk yelled happily as Dean cheered, clapping loudly and whistling as Punk laughed.

"He's back in the game!" Dean called, washing under his arms with a smile.


	32. Fun

**Fun**

* * *

"So I got the right place." Punk teased as AJ opened up the door to him. The first thing she noticed was that he had a bunch of sunflowers in his hand.

"Looks like you did." AJ smiled softly.

"These are for you." Punk nodded, handing the flowers over to her as she took them gratefully.

"I love them. Thank you." AJ said, "Come in. I assume you've brought my babysitter for the night?" AJ laughed a little.

"I am here." Dean appeared from behind the wall as AJ smiled, "What is the munchkin up to?" He asked, strolling into the apartment.

"Well I've just got her down to sleep." AJ said, "So she should be good for the night." She nodded, walking into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. It felt so strange to be going on a date. Truthfully she'd never been on a date. It wasn't something she and Punk did before, so she was intrigued.

"What am I supposed to do? Stare at the four walls all night?" Dean asked, walking into the living room, "Where the hell is the TV?" He called as Punk punched him in the gut as he doubled over.

"She had to sell it." Punk hissed.

"What are you saying?" AJ asked, walking into the living room and putting her coat on.

"N-Nothing." Dean massaged his mid-centre, "You kids be home by ten." He warned.

"In the morning?" AJ teased, smiling over to Punk who raised his eyebrows before she left the living room.

"That cheeky little bitch." Dean smirked to himself as Punk took his cap off and ran his hand over his hair, taking a deep breath, "Well go on. Have fun." He pushed Punk forward who nodded and left the living room, joining AJ as they left the apartment.

"So where are you taking me?" AJ asked once they got out of the apartment block and into the streets.

"Well it's carnival weekend and I know how much you loved it when we went last time." Punk said as AJ nodded with a smile.

"I love the cotton candy." AJ nodded.

"I know." Punk smiled.

"So I get to see what Phil Brooks is like on a date." She nodded to herself.

"Well it's the first one I've been on so… give me some pointers at the end of the night." Punk said as AJ smiled and nodded.

"I will." She nodded, "You think our babysitter will be ok?" She questioned as Punk laughed a little.

"Yeah, he's actually pretty good with her." Punk nodded.

"Yeah, he is." AJ agreed, "I was just joking about the… ten in the morning thing." AJ made clear as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I kinda figured." Punk nodded, "Not that I'd be complaining."

"I'm sure you wouldn't." AJ nodded, "So are you gonna win me a bear here?"

"I could try." Punk nodded, "And then you could get rid of Ms Cuddles." Punk suggested.

"Oh, no way." AJ said, "Ms Cuddles is here to stay forever." She scoffed as Punk smiled.

"So when are you back at work?" He asked.

"Monday." AJ said, "My shifts next week are Monday, Tuesday and Friday." She nodded.

"You seem positive about it all. You reckon you made the right call?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, I'm glad I decided to go back. I'm just… I'm so fed up of not having money. I wanna do better for Thea." She nodded, folding her arms and looking down, "It's embarrassing how little we have-"

"No, it's not. You got a roof over your head, your fed and you got clothes on your back." Punk nodded, "You've done amazing." He said as AJ looked at him, "And Thea is so happy, she's the happiest little thing. You're an amazing mother. No money can make you a good mom." He said as AJ smiled.

"You think so?" AJ asked.

"I can see it." Punk said, "But I do think it's great that you're getting back to work. If anything for your health. Gets you out the apartment and keeps your mind busy."

"Well I wouldn't be able to do it without your help." AJ said, "I know you say it's your job and you're her father. I get that. But you've been so hands on, so good… so good with her." AJ nodded, "I'm not saying I didn't expect it, because… I knew you'd be a good dad but-"

"But you didn't know if I would get out of prison and just be the same guy who only cared about working for Rio?" Punk figured as AJ nodded, "I get it." He nodded, "I'm not that guy anymore."

"I know." AJ realised as he looked at her, "The cotton candy is on you." She nudged him as he smiled to himself and nodded.

"Only if you win me a bear." Punk said.

"Oh, challenge accepted." AJ nodded.

* * *

"Yes! Ha… bear, please." AJ tapped her hands on the counter after winning herself a teddy bear at one of the carnival stalls.

If this really was a proper first date, Punk knew he'd be learning all about her competitive side, but he already knew everything there was to know about her, which gave him the chance just to admire it all the more.

"Which one?" The man behind the stall asked.

She'd managed to knock the cans down with the bowl, with only a few attempts, even the guy behind the stall was impressed.

"The little pink one." AJ pointed as the man reached for the bear and handed it over to her.

"Nice pick." Punk nodded.

"Hey, it's for you." AJ said, handing him the bear as Punk laughed a little.

"Just what I needed." Punk nodded, taking the bear from her, "This is an odd looking bear." Punk admitted, walking through the carnival with her.

It was nice to get out and do something fun together. To not be at each other's throats or be constantly thinking of their chaotic past. It felt like old times, and oh how the old times were sweet memories.

"Yeah, his eyes are a little weird." AJ admitted, "Oh, let's play this." She said excitedly, approaching the next stall as Punk smiled.

"You won't be able to do this." Punk chuckled.

"Don't. You know that gets me fired up." She warned him as he laughed a little.

She handed the man behind the stall some coins and picked up the water gun. It was typical carnival stalls. Ball throwing, water gun shooting, theme park rides and a ton of food stalls that smelt amazing.

"I can't wait to see you frustrated." Punk nodded, standing back and spectating with a smile as AJ tried to squirt the water gun into the bullseye.

"I got this." AJ assured him, using the gun. But it appeared to be harder than it looked, and she hated to admit that.

"Shots up." The man nodded, amused by her confidence that got her nowhere.

"She'll take another one." Punk said, handing over more money, sitting the bear down on the table as he crept behind AJ, placing his arms over her, his hands folding over hers on the gun as AJ felt him press against her back.

"Aim for that one." He said, guiding her grip on the gun towards one of the targets as AJ gulped, feeling him so close against her, his breath on her neck, his hands over hers, "You gotta pull on the trigger." He reminded her. She was far from concentrating on the game.

She pulled the button down on the gun, managing to squirt the target with his guidance as he smiled to himself and backed up.

"It's a one player game." The man behind the stall said bitterly as Punk rolled his eyes.

"Give her the balloon." Punk spat as the man looked across at him, eventually grabbing one of the balloons, handing it over to AJ who smiled to herself.

* * *

"I haven't had this much fun in so long." AJ shook her head, later on that night sitting at a picnic bench across from him, sharing some cotton candy out of a bag, "I feel like I'm a kid again." She smiled as Punk looked across at her.

"You are a kid." Punk said honestly as AJ looked at him.

"I think we skipped being kids, don't you?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah, maybe." Punk nodded, "Not out of choice."

"Well no." AJ agreed, "I've not got to do anything like this in so long." She shook her head.

"Yeah, there's no carnivals at prison." Punk agreed as AJ chuckled a little.

"What is there in prison?" She asked, picking some cotton candy out of the bag.

"Psychopaths." Punk nodded.

"Well that's a given." AJ said, "No, I mean… did you do anything? Take any classes?"

"Yeah, a class to help me not get involved with drug dealers again." Punk nodded, "I also took a woodwork class. Basically the same thing." He said sarcastically.

"You think it helped?" AJ asked him.

"Well I fixed the hinges on my bedroom door yesterday." He said as AJ smiled a little and looked at him.

"I was more talking about the other class." AJ smiled, knowing he knew it that anyway.

"Well I guess it's not up to me to decide that." Punk said, "I think it helped a little. I met people who… who'd lost everything. Their jobs, their kids, their partners, their house… because they got carried away." He said, "I'm not ending up like that." He vowed.

"What if Rio came back to you and said he had a job for you-"

"I'd send him packing." Punk nodded, "He was a good friend and yeah, he helped us with certain things." He said, "But like you said, he brought all these problems into my life. I don't want them anymore. I don't want them around Thea… around you." He said, "I'm not making everyone else miserable around me because of this." He shook his head, "Otherwise I'm just… I'm turning into my mom and I… man, I grew up hating my mom." He sighed to himself as AJ nodded, looking across at him.

"You're doing good." AJ smiled.

"Yeah?" Punk asked.

"Yeah." AJ assured him, "I know I'm not the best at being open. I never really had to open up to you before because… it just came natural." She said, "And I know you're probably wondering where the hell my head is at." She said.

"Well… yeah." Punk nodded.

"I fell in love with this boy. He was kind, and he was caring, he put everyone else before him. Made me feel like I'd always be safe." She said as Punk looked across at her, "Somewhere along the road… that boy got lost." She nodded, "I don't know if it was pressure, circumstance or just… because he was a kid and he made a mistake."

"Do I know this guy?" Punk teased as AJ smiled a little.

"I don't think he's so lost anymore." AJ shook her head as he smiled across at her, "All the things you did, it never made me stop loving you. In fact, it's because I loved you that this was all so difficult." She nodded.

"You know I'm gonna regret all of it until the day I die." Punk nodded.

"I don't want you to do that." AJ said, "I just want you to learn from it. Move on from it."

"Alone?" He questioned as AJ looked at him.

"It's still early." AJ nodded, "I'm still getting used to having you back. I think we got a lot off our chest a few weeks ago. It was like a year's worth of frustration got poured out and maybe now… now we can move on." She said.

"I'd love nothing more." Punk shook his head as AJ nodded.

"Maybe we could… try this dating thing." She nodded, "We don't have to rush it."

She was still very nervous about everything, but there was no way she could deny her feelings. She was still so in love with him, even more so when every day, she saw the man she first fell in love with, back again.

"I'd like that." Punk nodded.

"This is the happiest I've been in a long time." She let him know. She couldn't deny how much her spirits felt lifted. She didn't feel so alone again. She felt like she had her best friend back. Well… she did.

"Is it because of the carnival or me?" Punk questioned with a cheeky smile.

"Oh, definitely the carnival." AJ teased as he chuckled with a smile, watching her giggle and take more cotton candy out of the bag.

* * *

"You didn't have to walk me all the way home." AJ said after eventually leaving the carnival and arriving home. She had a hold of the balloon she'd won whilst Punk had the teddy bear.

"Well I thought I'd come give my baby a kiss." Punk said as she smiled, "And also collect the babysitter." He said as AJ nodded, opening up the apartment door and walking in.

He wandered into the bedroom, making his way over to the crib where Thea was fast asleep in, smiling to himself as he stroked her cheek lovingly, looking at the teddy bear in his other hand.

"More than one girl in my life now." He said to himself, sitting the teddy bear at the bottom of the crib in the corner, "You have her." He smiled.

He eventually left the bedroom, finding Dean in the hallway who AJ was thanking for babysitting.

"It's ok, I had nothing better to do anyway." Dean waved his hand, "Me and the munchkin get along pretty well, you know." He told AJ.

"So I hear." AJ smiled.

"I'm gonna go for a cigarette." He said, "Catch you later, AJ." He said as AJ nodded, watching Dean leave the apartment.

"Well… thanks for the date." AJ said, walking Punk to the door, "I had a lot of fun." She smiled.

"Yeah, me too." Punk said, "Hopefully we can do it again sometime." He said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah." AJ agreed, "I'll drop Thea off on Monday on my way to work. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Punk nodded, "I'll see you then."

"Yeah." AJ smiled, looking up at him as he looked back at her, both of them standing a little awkwardly not knowing what to do.

"Ok, I'll… I'll let you get in." Punk nodded, stepping out of the apartment as AJ took his hand, leaning up and kissing his cheek quickly before stepping back as he smiled a little.

"Bye." AJ said quietly, closing the door over as he smiled to himself.

She walked off into her bedroom to get her pyjamas on, smiling to herself, feeling giddy and happy which wasn't something she'd felt in a long time. She walked over to the crib, smiling on as she saw Thea fast asleep, suddenly noticing the teddy bear Punk had from the carnival sitting at the bottom of the crib. She placed her hand over her heart and smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Little music inspiration for the chapter: Hard Place by H.E.R**


	33. Right Direction

**Right Direction**

* * *

"Oh, hey." AJ smiled, noticing Punk walking into the coffee shop with Thea, "What are you doing here?" She smiled, walking out from behind the counter, noticing Dean following behind, "Guys day out?" She laughed a little.

"Guys day out plus little miss fussy." He pointed in the stroller.

"Oh, really?" AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, she's cheeky." Punk nodded, "Not only did I get the worst diaper ever, but she cried all the way through breakfast and wouldn't go down for a nap. She fell asleep on the walk here."

"Oh, my poor baby." AJ frowned, leaning down into the stroller and kissing Thea on the cheek, "Nothing you can't handle I'm sure." She looked at him as he just nodded. She did find it incredibly amusing watching him pushing the stroller, but also incredibly sexy.

"So this is what April is like at work?" He smiled, "I like your little apron." He noticed the short apron around her skirt.

"Yeah?" AJ laughed a little.

"Hey, April." Dean walked over to them, "Can I get like a free muffin or something?" He asked her as AJ looked up at him.

"I don't think so." AJ shook her head, "I can give you one in exchange for money, though." AJ assured him as Dean scoffed, "I didn't think you were both staying."

"Yeah well apparently Phil drinks coffee now." Dean raised his eyebrows as AJ looked at Punk.

"I drank a lot in prison. What's the big deal?" Punk shook his head.

"It's like an adult thing." Dean said.

"Oh, ok… well I'll have a juice box whilst I feed my daughter then." Punk rolled his eyes.

"Nothing wrong with a good juice box, my brother." Dean patted Punk on the back.

"Ok, well what do you guys want? We've got a line behind you now." She pointed out.

"Oh." Punk noticed, moving forward towards the counter where AJ got behind again.

It was a nice place with a warm atmosphere. Quaint and unique. A ton of good looking cakes and a very strong smell of coffee.

"What do you want?" She asked them.

"I'll just take a coffee." Punk said, "What do you want?" He turned to Dean who was staring at all the cakes.

"Is the carrot cake nice?" Dean asked AJ, "Or should I get a cookie?" He asked.

"The carrot cake is nice." AJ nodded.

"What about the cupcakes? Is the frosting thick?" Dean wondered, looking through the glass as Punk ran his hand over his face.

"I don't know." AJ said honestly, "My job is to sell them, not eat them." He reminded him.

"Ok, I'll have the carrot cake." Dean nodded, "No, a cookie." He said as Punk got some cash out.

"A drink?" Punk asked him as Dean shrugged, "Do you want a juice box?"

"Not if you're going to judge me." Dean scoffed childishly.

"Just go take her over to a seat." Punk shook his head as Dean nodded, pushing the stroller to a seat over in the corner as Punk looked over at AJ making his coffee.

She looked comfortable in the job and happy, which was really nice to see.

"Here you go." AJ said, sitting the coffee down, "What kind of juice box?" She asked with a chuckle.

"God, just whatever." Punk rolled his eyes as AJ smiled, grabbing one out from the fridge as well as the cookie Dean had requested, "You're good at this." He smiled, "I didn't know you were so polite."

"Excuse me?" AJ laughed, "I can be polite when I wanna be." AJ nodded as he smiled, "You never saw me spilling a coffee earlier on all over the place." She scoffed as he smiled.

"Here you go." He said, passing her over the money as she smiled.

"Well… enjoy." She said playfully as he smiled, "And tell Dean not to make crumbs. I just vacuumed that area." She snapped as Punk nodded.

"Got it." He said, walking away to the table Dean was sitting at.

"I've definitely stole from in here." Dean nodded to himself as Punk sat down, "It's nice. It's like where smart people come to read a book and stare out the window when it's raining." He looked around as Punk looked at him.

"She looks happy, right?" Punk said, turning around and looking over at AJ who was serving more people.

"For sure." Dean said, "It's good she's got another outlet. She's not stuck in that disgusting apartment twenty-four hours a day." He said as Punk nodded, "You going out on another date?" He asked, eating his cookie.

"Haven't asked her yet." Punk said, "Sort of… don't have any ideas on what to do or where to take her."

"Well what did you guys do before?" Dean asked.

"We shared stolen food from the store and had sex." Punk nodded, "I just want it to be different this time around."

"Well it already is." Dean said, "Look, you know where you went wrong last time, so that will ensure you don't ever go back there."

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded to himself, listening as he began to hear Thea stirring in her stroller, starting to cry a little as Punk stood up and lifted her out, "Hey, can you go ask April to heat her formula up? She's probably looking for it now." Punk noticed the time as Dean nodded, taking the formula from the bag and walking over to the counter.

"Can you heat this up?" Dean asked, handing it over to AJ.

"Yeah. Is she ok?" AJ asked, taking the formula to heat up as she watched Punk holding Thea.

"Yeah, she's fine." Dean nodded, "You look really comfortable in here. You enjoying it?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I am." AJ smiled, "It gets me out the house a few days, I'm making a little more money and… the people are really ncie here." She said as Dean watched another waitress walk by AJ.

"Yes they are." Dean smirked as he watched the girl as Dean coughed for his attention, "What?"

"Aren't you dating someone?" AJ asked.

"Dating? No." Dean scoffed, "Doesn't hurt to look." He said as AJ tutted.

"Here." AJ said, slamming the bottle down on Dean's hand deliberately.

"Hey." Dean winced as AJ smiled, "You've somehow became a lot meaner than before." Dean scoffed, massaging his fingers and walking away as AJ shook her head.

"Who is that, April?" Another girl asked by the name of Grace. She got on well with all the girls behind the counter which definitely helped.

"Oh, that's just an old friend, he was just getting the formula heated for-"

"No, not him… his friend." Grace smiled, looking over at Punk as AJ watched her, "Looks like he has a lot of flavour, if you know what I mean." She nudged AJ who looked at her.

"That's my daughter's father." AJ nodded as Grace raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, gosh. That's embarrassing." Grace laughed, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." AJ laughed, amused.

"Are you two…"

"Together?" AJ asked as she nodded, "I'm… I'm not sure what's going on between us." AJ admitted.

"Oh, one of those ones." Grace said as AJ nodded, watching Punk feeding Thea.

* * *

"It was nice of you to stop by at the coffee shop today." AJ nodded, later that night in Punk and Dean's apartment where she was picking up Thea after her shift.

"Yeah well I thought we'd come check it out." Punk smiled, "See mama at work." He stroked Thea's cheek as AJ held her in her arms and smiled.

"Was she ok?" AJ asked, putting her into the stroller.

"Yeah, she had a long nap earlier when we got back." Punk nodded, "She needed it."

"Acting up already for you, huh?" AJ chuckled with amusement.

"Start of forever, I think." Punk nodded as AJ smiled, looking up at him. She figured that she would give him the same energy back as he'd given her. She didn't want to be sitting back and letting him do all the work and put all the effort in. She wanted to show him that she did really want to make a go of this.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies or something?" AJ asked, "Or we can do something else, I don't know."

"No, that sounds fun." Punk smiled, "And I can get our nanny to babysit Thea." He said, of course meaning Dean.

"If he's available, that would be great." AJ nodded, "Some time next week?" She asked.

"Sure." Punk nodded, "Yeah, sounds good." He smiled. It felt nice that she had asked him. It put his mind at ease that she really was on the same wave length as him, and she wanted to make effort just as much as he did.

"Ok well you gotta think about what you wanna see. No horror, no sci-fy and no action." She said.

"April, if you wanna go see a chick flick, all you gotta do is say." He teased as AJ shoved him.

"There does look like a few good ones out, to be fair." AJ shrugged.

"Well you decide, I'll watch anything." Punk nodded. He just wanted to be in her company, it didn't matter what they were doing.

"Ok." AJ smiled, "Well I'll get going. I'll see you tomorrow anyway." She said. He still came to visit Thea at the apartment, even on their days off, which she thought was still very sweet and good of him.

"Yeah, I'll see you." He nodded, waving into the stroller too as AJ left the apartment, Punk closing the door behind her.

"Another date?" Dean smirked, walking out from the kitchen with a beer.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Which means another babysitting session." He smiled.

"You're lucky I like that kid." Dean teased as Punk smiled.


	34. Nervous

**Nervous**

* * *

"That was the worst movie I have ever seen." Punk said, sitting in a diner late on one night after he and AJ had gotten out from the movies.

"It wasn't so bad." AJ shrugged.

"It was cliché and predictable." Punk scoffed, eating the ice-cream sundae they were sharing.

"Oh and all of your horror films that you love aren't predictable?" AJ laughed.

"Well… most of them aren't." Punk said as AJ shook her head.

"You only like horror movies because you know I get scared and that means you can make your move on me." She pointed her spoon at him.

"Oh, yeah. That's the exact reason I love horror films." Punk nodded sarcastically, "I felt like I was watching porn there." He shook his head.

"And you're complaining about that?" AJ raised her eyebrows, "It was just a nice, classic love story." She smiled as Punk rolled his eyes.

"I'm just glad it's over." Punk scoffed as AJ shook her head, looking around the diner.

"I used to come here with my dad." AJ remembered, "At a rare time he had some spare money. God knows where the money came from but… he would always take me here for ice-cream." She nodded.

"Have you heard from them?" Punk asked.

"Not since I told them I was pregnant." AJ said, "They didn't even come say goodbye. They just took off." She shrugged, "My brother too. I thought more of him than that." She admitted.

"_Chiquita, what are you doing here?" AJ's mother, Janet, asked after answering the door to AJ._

"_Hi to you too, mom." AJ said, walking into the house. _

_She didn't have a go to family home. She had moved around a lot. At times she didn't even have a house growing up. _

"_How are you?" Janet asked, "Are you eating?" She cupped AJ's cheeks._

"_Yes, I'm eating." AJ nodded, walking off into the living room where her father was sitting. _

"_April." Robert noticed, standing up and hugging his daughter as AJ hugged back._

_It was difficult growing up with the members of her family. They were very challenging people to cooperate with. She had always been very distant with her mother. She felt like most of the time she had to look after them and educate them. _

_They showed so much protectiveness over her at times, but on the other hand, she felt like they really didn't care much about what she did or where she ended up._

"_Is something wrong?" Janet asked, folding her arms._

"_No, nothing is wrong." AJ shook her head, "Why don't you both sit down?" She suggested as they both sat down whilst AJ sat across on a pulled out chair._

"_Are you in trouble?" Robert wondered, "You need money?"_

"_No." AJ shook her head, "No." She said, looking across at them. Even though she didn't feel like she needed to tell them, in her heart, she still wanted to, "I'm pregnant." She nodded._

"_Excuse me?" Robert shook his head._

"_Oh, April." Janet shook her head, "Oh, you stupid girl!" She yelled as AJ looked across at them._

"_You're really pregnant?" Robert asked._

"_Yeah." AJ nodded._

"_Do you know who the father is?" Robert asked._

"_Dad." AJ said with shock. It seemed like a very degrading question, "Of course I know. It's Phil." She nodded as they looked at her with confusion, "You've literally met him a dozen times."_

"_Phil?" Janet turned to Robert, "I don't remember."_

"_Because you were probably drunk or high." AJ concluded, "I've been with him for almost four years." _

"_Well I think I best go speak to this Phil." Robert stood up._

"_Well you won't get very far because he's in prison." AJ shrugged as Robert shook his head._

"_The father of your baby is in prison?" Janet let out a laugh, "You've outdone me, and that's saying something, missy." Janet pointed._

"_I know a guy in prison, maybe I'll have him beat some sense into him-"_

"_Oh my God, no." AJ shook her head, "No, just leave him out of it." She said._

"_Are you having the baby?" Janet asked._

"_I've thought about it." AJ nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna have it."_

"_I thought I raised a smart daughter." Janet sighed to herself._

"_You didn't raise any daughter. I raised myself." AJ said._

"_Well, it shows." Janet scoffed, "You're nineteen. How can you have a baby?"_

"_I'll… I'll manage." AJ shrugged, "Somehow." She whispered to herself._

"_Trust me, when I see that boy-"_

"_You'll do what, dad?" AJ shook her head, "It's not just his fault-"_

"_No, but it's his fault he's in prison, and he's left you in this mess-"_

"_It's not a mess." AJ rolled her eyes, "I have an apartment, I can… I can get a job." She said, "I'll be ok."_

"_Does he know?" Janet asked._

"_Yeah." AJ said, "Yeah, he knows."_

"_This was very stupid, April." Janet nodded._

"_Thanks, mom." AJ said._

"_Your mother is right." Robert said, "How are you going to take care of a child?" Robert questioned._

"_I guess I will just figure it out." AJ stood up, "I always do."_

"_That boy better hope he never bumps into me in the future." Robert said as AJ rolled her eyes._

"So they hate me?" Punk nodded to himself.

"Pretty much." AJ said, "That was the last I saw them. A couple months later my brother came to the apartment and told me they were moving the next day. I took that as the hint that I didn't have an invitation to go with them." She said.

"If they did ask you… would you have went?" Punk asked her.

"No, probably not." AJ said, "As much as you hurt me, I knew you were gonna get out at some point and… I did want you to meet Thea and be a dad to her… if that was what you wanted." She said, "Me going to Puerto Rico sort of made sure that wouldn't have happened."

"That's why you stayed?" Punk asked, "Because of me?"

"Don't flatter yourself." She scoffed as he smiled a little, "But yeah, I guess I did. Plus, there was nothing Puerto Rico could offer me that her didn't. I think doing this on my own helped me out. Because I didn't have a choice. I had to do my best or else we'd end up on the streets or… she would have got taken from me by some social workers." She shrugged, "I needed to go good."

"You did." Punk nodded, "Didn't you want someone at the hospital with you?" He asked.

"No, I… I'd done all the appointments on my own, why bother including anyone else?" She shrugged, "It wasn't as sad or scary as you think… the nurses were real nice to me and it was all over pretty quickly. Before I knew it she was just there, in my arms." She shook her head as Punk smiled, "Did you think about us in prison?"

"Of course I did. It was all I thought about." Punk said, "Somehow I thought it was gonna be a boy." He shook his head.

"So did I." AJ admitted.

"It's just so weird how I just can't imagine life without her. This tiny little thing." He smiled as AJ nodded in agreement.

"Me neither." She said, "Did you eat all the chocolate?" AJ looked at the Sundae which had their chosen flavours of ice-cream.

"I might have gotten carried away." Punk noticed as AJ smiled.

"Weird how we can afford this." AJ said as Punk laughed a little.

"Yeah, it is." Punk realised, "I… I should have listened to you about getting a real job back then."

"Well you did… the you got fired from it." She scoffed.

"My head was so far up my ass." Punk said, "We could have gotten out without me making it an issue. Rio would have let me go. But… I didn't want to be let go. That was the issue." Punk realised, "We could have gotten jobs and saved money, had Thea and work towards building a future not just for us but for her."

"We can still do that." AJ nodded, "I don't want her to go through what we had to." She said.

"Me neither." Punk shook his head, looking across at her and watching her dig into the ice-cream. It was so nice just to be out and talking again. Forgetting about the past and focusing on the now, working on the now, "What's changed for you?"

"What do you mean?" AJ asked him.

"Well just a couple weeks ago we were screaming at each other. I… I really thought you weren't gonna give me a chance."

"Yeah, so did I honestly." AJ admitted, "I was just so mad, and so hurt." She nodded, "But I realised I was only so hurt and so mad because I… I still care, a lot." She said, "And seeing you with Thea, and you're doing well with your job, it shows that you care too and you wanna do everything you can to make it work." She said, "So… I figured we got everything off our chest, we may as well try this and see where it goes-"

"Where do you think it's gonna go?" He asked with a smile.

"Well we'll have to see." AJ nodded.

"All about the waiting, aren't you?" He said as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Gotta keep you on your toes." AJ said, "Ok, I think I'm starting to get brain freeze." She admitted as Punk chuckled.

"Yeah, I've hit a wall." He admitted.

It was important for them to still be able to go out and be kids, which essentially they still were. Even though having gone through so much, and having a child now, they still needed this time, and it was even better doing it together. It was like she was getting to fall in love with him all over again. Wiping the slate clean.

"I'll get the cheque." AJ said, sliding out of the booth and wandering away to the counter to pay for their food whilst Punk sat watching her with a smile.

* * *

Once they paid, they eventually left the diner where Punk began to walk AJ home, even when she insisted he didn't need to. He'd sleep better if he did.

"Work tomorrow?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "I have an extra day this week."

"Extra day, extra cash." Punk said positively.

"Yeah. I can't wait to get my first pay cheque. I'm gonna buy Thea something." She nodded to herself as Punk smiled.

"Don't forget to treat yourself too." Punk nodded as she smiled.

"Would you ever go back there?" AJ asked him.

"Where?" Punk questioned, not following.

"To Rio? If he asked you." AJ said.

"No." Punk shook his head, "I'm never going back there."

"You say that now but-"

"No, I mean it. You think I'd wanna risk losing everything again? You're giving me this chance and I'm… I swear, I'm not messing it up." Punk shook his head as AJ nodded.

Of course she was still doubtful. She knew how carried away he got. It started off as something innocent and turned into going to prison. She knew it wouldn't take much to get involved again, but she believed him when he said he wouldn't do that to her again.

"Because if you did-"

"I know." Punk assured her. He knew that he would lose everything, and rightly so, "But I'm not. I don't want to. I don't need to. I have something good here and I'm not messing it up for anything." He said, reaching her apartment as AJ nodded.

"That's good to know." AJ said as Punk nodded, "Well tonight was fun."

"Yeah." Punk nodded in agreement, "Maybe the movie wasn't so bad."

"I knew you liked it." AJ smirked, "I'll see you tomorrow then?" She said.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, looking across at her as she stood, silence falling over both of them as they looked at one another. They were both thinking the same thing, but neither could make the move.

"I better get in." AJ nodded.

"Sure." Punk said, "Ok… just… send Dean out, I'll wait on him."

"Ok." AJ said, "Goodnight." She said, walking into the apartment block as Punk rolled his eyes to himself and leaned against the wall. He was so focused on messing this up, he was starting to get nervous and anxious, which wasn't how he was before.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. I'm off on vacation tomorrow for a few days so there won't be any updates until then. Thanks for the reviews! I'll be back soon.**


	35. Not Alone

**Not Alone**

* * *

Punk woke up one morning the next week, tiredly walking through to the bathroom, placing his hand on the wall to keep him steady in case he fell asleep whilst standing up, it was possible.

He finished his business in the toilet and walked off to the kitchen, strolling slowly whilst yawning, walking in and jumping when he saw a woman in their kitchen.

"Uh… who the hell are you?" Punk exclaimed, now suddenly wide awake, watching the blonde girl jump out of her skin and turn around.

"Who the hell are you?" The girl pointed the wooden spoon at him which she was using to make pancakes.

"I live here." Punk shook his head with confusion.

"Oh." She realised, "Oh, you're the brother." She said, relaxing a little and putting the spoon down, "I'm Renee." Renee smiled.

"Oh." Punk nodded to himself, "Well hey… sorry I'm in… so little clothes." He rolled his eyes, "I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, Dean said you were sleeping when we came in last night." Renee said, "Do you want some pancakes?"

"Sure." Punk laughed a little. She wasn't what he expected. She seemed sweet and kind. She was of course very beautiful and very much his brother's type on the scale of looks.

"So how long have you been living here with Dean then?" Renee asked as Punk walked over to the fridge to get some orange juice.

"Couple months. Since I got out of prison." Punk said. He had no shame in admitting he'd been to prison. He was sure Dean had filled her in anyway.

"It's a nice apartment. Better than mine." Renee said, flipping a pancake.

"Yeah, my brother got lucky getting this. But he works hard for it." Punk nodded.

"You work with him on the construction site, right?" Renee turned as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, he managed to get me in. Which is ideal considering not many people would want to hire an ex inmate." He said as Renee nodded.

"Hey, a job is a job." Renee nodded, "I'm sorry if I'm in your way here. I can turn this off and come back in if you wanna-"

"No, you're fine." Punk smiled, "I take it his lazy ass is still sleeping."

"Yeah." Renee smiled, "I don't wanna sound high school or anything but… does he ever talk about me?" She asked him as Punk looked across at her, "He's just… he's sort of hard to read."

"All I know is he likes you." Punk nodded. He didn't want to get too involved.

"Ok." Renee nodded, "Well at least I know I'm not completely wasting my time." She laughed to herself as Punk smiled, listening as there was a knock at the door, realising it would be April coming to drop Thea off.

They'd arranged since it was his day off that he would have Thea for the day whilst AJ picked up a shift. Things had been going really well with them in terms of being there for one another and supporting each other's jobs whilst working around Thea.

He left the kitchen and walked on down to the door, opening it up.

"Morning." Punk smiled.

"Morning." AJ said a little frantically, pushing the stroller in whilst holding Thea in her arms, a bag over her shoulder, "She spit up on the way here." AJ shook her head, walking on down to the kitchen.

She was already running late for work, sometimes dropping Thea off got a little chaotic.

She rushed into the kitchen to grab a few wipes when she saw a young girl standing making pancakes in a pair of short shorts and tank top. She immediately thought the worst.

"I'll get her cleaned up, you just get to work." Punk encouraged, walking into the kitchen as AJ looked at him. He could tell by the look on her face that she was mad, and he was trying to figure out why…

"Phil, how many pancakes do you want?" Renee asked as AJ looked across at Renee, "Oh, hey." Renee turned around, "Oh, is this your daughter?" Renee smiled as AJ immediately walked out of the kitchen with Thea. Punk quickly realised how it looked and how she might have thought that Renee had spent the night with him.

"I'm sorry, just give me a minute." Punk said, leaving the kitchen and walking down the hallway, "April."

"How stupid am I?" AJ laughed to herself.

"April." Punk shook his head.

"This is what I get for thinking you could change-"

"April." Punk put his hands on his hips as he listened to her ramble.

"And to think I even thought of getting back together with you-"

"She's with Dean." Punk shook his head as AJ looked at him, "Renee. You know the girl he's been seeing. That's her. I just woke up five minutes ago and she was in the kitchen." He said as AJ looked at him.

"You didn't sleep with her?" AJ asked.

"No." Punk shook his head, "And it kinda sucks that you'd think I'd do that." Punk said, "Especially when things are going… relatively well for us." He said as AJ looked at him.

"I'm sorry." AJ shook her head. She was so scarred by the past, that her head just went to such negative places, to protect her own feelings and her own self, "I'm sorry, I-"

"It's ok." Punk assured her, "I get that it… it might have looked that way." He understood, "But she's with Dean."

"She is Dean's type." AJ figured, "Sorry, I should have thought before I jumped to conclusions-"

"You're fine." Punk said, "Now, let me take her and you get yourself to work." He nodded.

"Yeah… yeah, ok." AJ nodded, passing Thea over to Punk who gave her a kiss hello, "There's clean onesies in the bag."

"Got it." Punk nodded, "I'll drop her off at 5?" He asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great." AJ nodded, "Ok, I really need to go." She said, "Bye, baby." She said, leaning over and kissing Thea's cheek, "Sorry again…"

"It's fine." Punk nodded, watching her as she left the apartment to head to work.

It did hurt him a little that she would think he would do that to her when things were going well with them, but he understood that it was the scarring from the wounds he'd caused her, that would make her brain think that way. He knew it was going to be a long journey to gaining her trust back again.

* * *

Later that day, AJ had gotten home from work. She wasn't home long before Punk came around to drop Thea off.

"Hey, how was she?" AJ asked, letting him into the apartment.

"She was great." Punk smiled, "As usual." She nodded as AJ looked into the stroller and smiled.

"I miss her so much when I'm at work." AJ shook her head, lifting Thea out from the stroller and holding her close. She didn't need to say for him to know that. He could see how much she missed Thea whilst she was working.

"I bet she misses you." Punk nodded, "But she was great. Me and Dean took her to the park. He got an ice-cream." He nodded.

"You really are babysitting for two, huh?" AJ laughed a little.

"Sometimes, yeah." Punk nodded, "It was real nice out so I didn't want to stay in."

"Yeah, the coffee shop was so busy. People coming in for drinks, stopping in for a sandwich." She said as Punk nodded.

"Makes the day go by quicker." He nodded.

"It did actually." AJ realised, "I uh… I just wanted to apologise for this morning. I shouldn't have assumed anything-"

"But I can understand why you would have." Punk nodded, "It's fine." He said as she nodded, "I'd never do that to you, though. You gotta know that." He said as she nodded.

"Yeah, I… deep down I know that." AJ said, "Those wounds still feel fresh. Even though it happened a year ago." She said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I get it." Punk said as AJ watched him.

"I'm… I'm making dinner." She said, "Do you want to stay? Help me get her down and eat with me?" She asked him as he looked across at her.

"Yeah, of course." Punk smiled. Slowly, little by little, things were progressing well for them. He'd come to terms that things weren't going to go back to the way they were overnight. And on some levels, he didn't want things to go back to the way they were. He wanted to make it better than before. He wanted to be better. And taking it slow was ensuring that.

"Ok." AJ smiled, "Do you wanna go run her bath and I'll get her things ready?" She asked as Punk nodded, watching her wander away into the bedroom with Thea as he smiled to himself and headed off to the bathroom.

* * *

After bathing and putting Thea down to sleep together, they headed through to the kitchen. It was becoming one of AJ's favourite things, to have him with her whilst putting Thea down. It was something she'd had to do painfully alone for the first few months, and she never knew the significance of getting to share things like this with her baby's father.

"So what are we having?" Punk asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Chilli and nachos." AJ nodded.

"This sounds… planned." Punk smirked a little as she scoffed.

"No. I just have some leftover Doritos and a ton of mince beef I need to use up." She shrugged, "You can help or you can just sit and look pretty, it's up to you." She teased, getting the things out of the fridge.

"I can help and look pretty." Punk scoffed as she chuckled a little.

"Chop those up." She nodded, handing him over some tomatoes and onions as he took them over to the board at the kitchen counter, "So… is Dean in a relationship with that girl or-"

"Honestly, I don't know. I think they both like each other but they're not talking about it." He said whilst chopping the vegetables up, "I mean, that's the first time I've met her. He's never brought her home before."

"I always assumed Dean would just… never grow up." She laughed to herself, "She seemed nice."

"Really? You were scowling at her an awful lot." Punk nodded.

"Well, that was before I knew the situation." AJ said, "Which, I am sorry about for jumping to conclusions."

"Hey, what do I expect? I hurt you before and you're gonna be protective of your feelings. I can understand that." Punk nodded as she looked over at him, "For what it is worth, whether you believe me or not, I promise you… I'd never hurt you again like that." He nodded, looking over to her as she stared across at him.

Everything still felt very up in the air and very fresh. Whilst feeling like she was noticing her old boyfriend coming back to her again, the one she fell in love with and felt safest with, she also knew that things could change… he could change. She was torn between taking a risk with her heart or taking five thousand steps back with her head.

"I think it's a bit early for promises." AJ nodded to him.

"Then I'll promise myself." Punk said, watching her put a pot on the stove and throw the mince into it, "So how was work?"

"It was fine." AJ nodded, "It's insane actually being able to afford things again." She said, "Like food." She shook her head, "Couple months ago I was having one meal a day." She said as Punk sighed, "I uh… I was even asked out for drinks with one of the girls." She said.

"Oh." Punk smiled, making a fuss as she rolled her eyes, "April making friends?"

"I'm not gonna go, obviously." AJ said.

"Why not?" Punk shook his head.

"I don't know… it's weird. I'm… I'm a mom-"

"And? That doesn't mean you're on house arrest." Punk said, "I'm here now so… these are the sort of things you should be doing. I'll have a night with my girl and you go out and have some fun." He nodded.

"You think I should?" AJ asked, taking the chopped ingredients from him and putting them in the pot.

"Yeah, of course you should." Punk nodded, "Do things that every kid our age should be doing. I'm here to take care of Thea. You're not alone." He reminded her as she looked at him and nodded.

She had to admit, it was hard getting used to the fact she wasn't alone. She did have his support, especially in terms of parenthood. That was a big deal for her.

"I don't know. It's not like I even drink." She shrugged.

"And so what?" Punk said, "You can still go out." He nodded.

"It still feels so weird having you around to help me with Thea." She admitted truthfully, "I told myself that… it was just gonna be me and her forever." She said as Punk looked at her, "I just accepted the fact that my life wasn't that important anymore. Everything went to her-"

"You can't live like that." Punk said, "Your life is important. Your sanity is important. Your choices, your alone time." He nodded, "You should go out with the girls from your work, I bet you'll have a ton of fun."

"Well then maybe I will." AJ shrugged as Punk smiled and nodded.

"Just don't get arrested or anything. I'm not bailing your ass out of jail." He teased as AJ gasped.

"Hey." She nudged him as he nudged back with a chuckle, turning to her as she watched her smile to herself, "Pass me the salt." She said, "Please." She extended her hand out as he reached over and passed it to her.


	36. Not Any Easier

**Not Any Easier**

* * *

"I can't believe she's actually going out… socialising." Dean scoffed, sitting on the couch in the apartment, cracking open a beer as Punk sat beside him, "It's not really April esque is it?"

"I convinced her to." Punk shrugged.

"Why?" Dean questioned.

"Because she deserves to go out and have some fun, do what every other twenty year old is doing. I'm here now which means I can help with Thea, means she doesn't have to be alone." Punk nodded.

"Aren't you afraid she's gonna meet a guy?" Dean asked as Punk turned to him.

"Well… no, I wasn't." He said, "Because we're…" He paused.

"You're what? Having a date here and there where neither of you talk about what's going on between you?" Dean nodded, "Yeah, going strong." He nodded sarcastically.

"Hey, taking it slow is proving to work for us. And you know… if she did meet someone, she'd tell me about it and-"

"And you'd lose your mind?" Dean nodded as Punk sighed.

"Yeah." Punk shrugged, "Why'd you put that shit in my head?" He pushed Dean over aggressively, "Dick."

"I'm just saying… she's going out with girl friends, she's attractive, young, fiery-"

"Stop talking." Punk shook his head just as there was a knock at the door, "That'll be her." He said.

He got up from the couch and wandered to the doorway, opening it up when he saw AJ standing, pushing the stroller into the apartment as he watched her with wide eyes. She looked unbelievably gorgeous. She had a black dress on with a leather jacket. Her hair was straight and she had a spot of make-up on. Her dress was deliberately fitted showing off her curves and even a little bit of cleavage.

"Hey." AJ laughed a little, noticing he hadn't said anything yet.

"Hey." Punk shook his head, trying to look elsewhere.

"So she's sleeping. She fell asleep on the way here but she'll wake for her bottle in an hour or so… you know." She waved her hand. She had a habit of telling him things he should know, when really, he was starting to get to know these things anyway.

"Damn Mendez." Dean strolled out from the living room, "You look like a tasty dish." He smirked. He enjoyed making people feel uncomfortable.

"Thanks, Dean." AJ laughed a little, turning to Punk who was just staring at her, "Well I better go." She nodded, "Thank you for letting me do this."

"Hey, you have fun." Punk smiled as AJ nodded.

"Ok." She said, "Well bye, sweetie." She leaned over the stroller, holding her hair back and kissing Thea on the head.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked.

"Just a bar that one of the girls knows." AJ nodded, "I won't be too late, don't worry." She said.

"Hey, just go enjoy yourself." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Ok, well I'll see you later." AJ nodded, walking out of the door and closing it over as Punk turned to Dean who chuckled.

"How worried are you?" Dean chuckled to himself as Punk ran his hand through his hair.

* * *

Later that night, AJ was surprised with how much she was enjoying herself. Before she would never have been able to afford something like this. She could barely afford food for herself, but Punk being there to help her, contributing for Thea and also being able to get her own wage again made such a huge difference to her, and it was amazing how much her spirits had been lifted just by having that little extra money.

The girls were so sweet with her and so easy to get along with. They made her feel comfortable and at home and that was helpful too.

"April, are you sure you don't want a cocktail or something?" Grace asked, slipping down from the stool that was around the tall table they were sitting at.

"I'm sure." AJ smiled, "Just a water is fine." She nodded, watching Grace head on over to the bar whilst she sat with Jenna, one of the other girls she worked with.

"So where is little Thea tonight?" Jenna asked.

"She's with her dad." AJ smiled.

"And you're good with that?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah, I mean… we're on good terms." AJ shrugged, "And he's great with Thea."

"When did you meet this guy anyway?" She asked.

"When I was sixteen." AJ said.

"So he's… he's the only guy you've ever been with?" Jenna asked.

"Well… yeah." AJ nodded.

"Maybe he's time to… put yourself back out there." Jenna shrugged.

"Well I don't really know what's going on with me and Phil. We've had a couple dates, well… I think they were dates." AJ said.

"Sounds like you're a little confused." Jenna nodded.

"Well I kinda am." AJ said, "We haven't talked about us, a lot." She said, "It's sort of staying on the same tier. I'm just afraid history will repeat itself and I think he's afraid that he's gonna make any moves that I don't want." She shrugged.

"Sounds like you guys need to talk to each other a little more." Jenna nodded, "You still love him?" She questioned.

"Yeah, I do." AJ nodded, "It's just so different now." AJ admitted.

"You think you're gonna end up back together with him?" Jenna asked.

"I honestly don't know. A lot has changed. And a lot happened." She said. She never realised how good it was to have people to talk to about her current situation, "I'm just scared that history will repeat itself."

"Well it's a risk only you can take." Jenna shrugged, "You've only been with this one guy. Maybe you need to… look around first. Mister perfect could be in this very bar." She teased as AJ scoffed.

"I don't think so." AJ shook her head.

"Well that guy at the bar over there has been staring at you since we got in." Jenna said as AJ turned around slowly and looked over at the man discreetly looking at her.

"Are you sure he isn't looking at you?" AJ turned to her modestly.

"Please." Jenna scoffed just as Grace came back with the drinks, sitting them on the table and getting back on her stool.

"What'd I miss?" Grace asked, dishing the drinks out.

"Just Jenna questioning my love life… again." AJ nodded.

"Hey, I'm just saying… that guy you were with hurt you. If you're scared that he's gonna do it again then that's doubt and… you can't have doubt in a relationship." Jenna said.

"She's right." Grace agreed.

"It's still really early. He's only been back a couple months. And he's doing great with Thea. He's owned up to all his mistakes." AJ nodded to herself, "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"His dick game must be strong." Jenna assumed as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Is he big?" Grace asked, sipping on her cocktail.

"Oh my God." AJ laughed.

"Well?" Jenna waited as they looked at her.

"He's… yeah, he's ok." AJ shrugged modestly as they both smirked.

"Look, he seems nice." Jenna nodded, "And we don't know the history of it all, but we do know that he cheated on you." She said, "And I don't know if I could ever trust my boyfriend again if he cheated on me… whilst I was pregnant." She shook her head.

"Yeah, I have to agree." Grace nodded.

"There was a lot going on back then." AJ said.

"You can't make excuses for him, though." Jenna said.

"I'm not. He knows he fucked up, believe me." AJ said, "I still love him, and I don't want to feel bad about that, or feel like a fool for still loving him after what he did." She said.

"Hey, no one thinks you're a fool." Grace shook her head, "You have a kid with him. You've known him for a long time. I'm just saying it would make me kinda nervous going down that road again."

"Yeah, I know." AJ said, "Trust me, I'm nervous." She nodded, "I don't even know what we're doing. We've been on a couple of dates and it… it feels like nothing has changed between us but… it's not like we've put a label on things or we've really talked about it." She said.

"Then maybe you should." Jenna nodded.

"I do miss him." AJ nodded, "And he's helping me out so much with Thea, giving me money for her, letting me work again." She said as the girls nodded.

"How long has it been since you had sex?" Jenna questioned as AJ thought to herself.

"Over a year." AJ nodded, "I had to buy a vibrator whilst I was pregnant because I was so horny all the damn time."

"Why didn't you just go have sex?" Grace questioned.

"I don't know, it just felt wrong." AJ shrugged.

"Hey, girls have needs." Jenna nodded as AJ smiled. She admired them for being so open and honest with her. It was the type of friends she needed.

"I'm gonna get a straw." AJ said, stepping down from the stool.

"Oh, get me one too." Grace nodded as AJ walked on over to the bar, waiting for someone to come along when she noticed the man the girls pointed out to her, edging closer to her at the corner of her eye.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked with a smile as AJ turned to him.

"I'm just looking for a straw." AJ said politely.

"A straw like… these ones?" He questioned, showing her the tub of straws right in front of her eyes as AJ looked at them, feeling stupid.

"Yeah, those ones." AJ laughed a little, looking at him.

"You sure I can't buy you a drink?" He asked as AJ looked up at him.

* * *

Later that night, Punk was laying up on the couch watching TV. Dean had gone out with Renee and Thea was sleeping in his room in her crib. He got up as soon as he heard a knock at the door, assuming it was AJ.

He got off the couch and walked out to the doorway, opening the door where AJ stood with a small smile.

"Hey." AJ smiled.

"Hey, how was your night?" He asked her as she walked into the apartment.

"It was good." AJ smiled, "Really good." She nodded, "How's my baby?"

"She's fine. Had her bottle, went down just after you dropped her off." Punk nodded, "I wish I could have kept her overnight, means you could have stayed out but… I've got an early start tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's fine. I would have been coming home at this time anyway." AJ said.

"I'll go get her." Punk said, walking away to get Thea.

He picked her up from her crib, making sure he didn't disturb her from sleeping and left the room, walking down the hallway and placing her into the stroller quietly for AJ to take her home.

"Hi, sweetie." AJ smiled softly, stroking Thea's cheek softly as Punk smiled, folding his arms.

"So you had a good night?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, I did." AJ smiled, "And hey… listen, I… I got some guy's number at the bar." She nodded as Punk looked at her, his face dropping a little, "He was really nice and kind-"

"Then what the hell are we doing?" Punk shook his head a little angrily.

"Phil, I-"

"No… no, what is the point?" Punk asked, "We're obviously wasting our time with this. I was just taking it slow with you because I thought that's what we needed… but if you've figured out you don't want this then it'd be nice of you to let me know before you start getting guys numbers." He spat as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"If you let me finish." AJ hissed, "I was going to say that… although he was nice and kind, it made me realise that I wanted to give things a proper go with you." She said, looking at him with confusion, "But hey… if you think that I'm wasting your time, then please… by all means-"

"You still took his number." Punk said.

"Are you kidding me?" AJ shook her head, "I was being polite. It didn't mean anything. Gosh, you're so… so jealous." AJ realised.

"Me? Me jealous?" He laughed.

"Yes." AJ nodded, "Maybe I will go out with him." She spat.

"You do what you want, April. I'm tired of this." Punk shook his head, massaging his face.

"Tired of what?" AJ spat, "I was giving you a chance… one which quite frankly you don't deserve."

"Then don't give me it." Punk said, "I'm doing all I can here. I'm trying. But if you wanna keep bringing up the favours you're doing for me by forgiving me… I'm over it." He said, in the moment.

"You're over it?" AJ questioned as Punk nodded, "So you won't care if I start dating someone else?"

"No." Punk said. Obviously lying. The thought was making his heart beat rapidly, "We can just be those parents who pick up and drop their kid off to each other."

"I can't believe you just said that." AJ shook her head. She wanted to try. She wanted to make things work. She knew it might have been taking a while but she was still healing, she thought he understood that, but it appeared he really didn't.

"Well maybe it's better for everyone involved." Punk shrugged as AJ shook her head.

"You're such hard work." AJ shook her head, taking the stroller by the handle.

"I'm hard work?" Punk questioned, "I don't know what else you want me to do to prove to you that I'm not that guy I was before I got arrested… and I know deep down you still see him, and you're worried that I'm gonna go back to those ways again…"

"Well can you blame me?" AJ asked.

"I just wanted you to trust me-"

"I did trust you. More than I trusted anyone. And look what you did to me." AJ said, "That is why this is so hard." She spat as Punk looked at her, "Don't bother coming over tomorrow night." She spat, opening up the door and walking out with the stroller and banging the door shut behind her as Punk groaned loudly and placed his hands over his face.


	37. Gave In

**Gave In**

* * *

"You two are so damn annoying." Dean shook his head, sitting on the couch the next night, digging into his Chinese food and watching the hockey game on TV whilst Punk sat beside, "And you're both so damn jealous."

"She's the one getting guy's numbers." Punk said.

"When someone gives you their number, you just take it. Whether you want it or not." Dean said, "And wasn't she coming back to tell you about it and how she actually wanted to move things along with you?"

"So she says." Punk nodded, "I don't know… I feel like she's never going to trust me again." Punk admitted, "There's only so much I can do."

"Blowing up on her like that probably wasn't the best thing to do." Dean said as Punk sighed to himself, playing with the cushion in front of him, "Things were going good with you two… why'd you have to open your stupid mouth?" Dean scoffed.

"Hey, I heard she was getting a guy's number from a bar and I freaked out, ok? I figured I'd been wasting my time and she really wasn't gonna trust me again… I… yes, I jumped to conclusions." He nodded, "But it's true, she's never gonna trust me again."

"You don't know that." Dean said.

"Well she said she's gonna go out with this guy now so…" He shrugged.

"She was probably just saying that to make you angry." Dean said, "She probably got this guys number and realised that she really just wanted to be with you, and try things out with you… and then she goes to tell you and you give her all the reasons why she shouldn't give things a go with you again." Dean said.

"Well I thought she was telling me that she was gonna go out with this guy. I felt like an idiot so I-"

"Jumped down her throat?" Dean nodded, "Why aren't you going to see Thea tonight?"

"She told me not to come." Punk said, "She was mad."

"Well clearly." Dean said, "Hey, man… what do you want?" He turned to him as Punk shook his head with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Punk asked.

"Do you want to make it work with April? Do you see it working? Because if you truly don't then maybe… maybe you gotta think about things. You got a kid, you gotta do the responsible thing now." Dean reminded him as Punk ran his hands over his hair.

"I love her. I'm never gonna love anyone like I love her." Punk said, "But I can't be in a relationship where she… she doesn't trust me or she has doubts about me. Makes me feel like a piece of shit. Reminds me of who I was before I went to prison and I… I hate that guy." Punk shook his head as Dean looked at him, "I love her and I want to make it work with her but-"

"But?" Dean raised his eyebrows.

"But… maybe she could find better." Punk nodded.

"Don't say it like that." Dean shook his head.

"Well maybe she could." Punk said, "Look at all the trouble I got her in, all the shit I put her through." He said.

"You've apologised." Dean said, "And you've been doing great since you got out. You're amazing dad. I'm honestly shocked at how good you are-"

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Punk asked him.

"Well yeah. I thought you'd be ok but… I also thought you'd be freaked out and scared but… you're rolling with the punches and you're doing amazing."

"I am scared." Punk said, "I'm terrified." He shook his head as Dean looked at him. The truth was, his brother had gone through a whole lot in the past year and a half. He knew April was the one constant thing that his brother needed, "I feel more lost right now than I felt when I was moving drugs." He rolled his head back against the couch as Dean looked at him.

"You need to talk to April." Dean said.

"I don't think she wants to talk to me." Punk shrugged.

"I don't care." Dean said, "You two are just… in a constant battle with yourselves. You gotta let that shit go." He said as Punk sighed to himself, taking his cap off and running his hand through his hair, "Please go talk to her. Figure this shit out. Remember what you guys had." He said as Punk sighed and sat up, leaving the living room and heading out of the apartment.

* * *

Punk headed to AJ's apartment, knocking on the door and waiting as she eventually opened up, looking across at him.

"What?" AJ said, only opening the door a little bit.

"Can we talk?" Punk asked her as she looked at him.

She opened up the door wider and let him into the apartment, stepping to the side as he walked on in.

"No yelling. I just got Thea down. She was being kinda fussy." AJ said, following him into the kitchen.

"I didn't come here to yell." Punk shook his head as AJ looked over at him, "I apologise for jumping to conclusions. I should have let you finish. I am jealous. If you dated someone else I think I'd probably go insane." He told her honestly. He figured there was no point in lying. He came to tell the truth.

"I know that." AJ said, "But I'm just wasting your time apparently."

"I never said you were wasting my time." Punk said.

"Between the lines, you did." AJ nodded.

"Don't you think I hate myself?" Punk asked her as AJ folded her arms, "The way you hated me… I hated me the same." He nodded, "And I still do. I blew everything. I became a terrible, awful person who put myself before anyone else." He said, "I hate that I turned into that person." He said, "And I hate even more that you're afraid I turn back into that person again." He nodded.

"I never hated you, Phil." AJ said.

"Yes you did." Punk nodded, "You hated me. Yeah, you might have still loved me, and cared about me, but part of you did hate me." He nodded.

"Part of me also loved you. And cared about you. Yes, the cheating was what hurt me the most but… watching someone you love lose themselves, lose their way, is truly heartbreaking." She said.

"I had a whole year to sit and think about all the shit I put you through. All the trouble I got you in-"

"You never held a gun to my head." AJ rolled her eyes.

"No but who's to say that if I left you alone that you wouldn't have gone on to meet someone better, or get a good job, go to college… have done something good-"

"Don't go down this route." AJ rolled her eyes.

"Well it's true." Punk said.

"You think so?" AJ questioned, "Are you suddenly unaware of how happy you actually made me?" AJ asked him as he looked at her, "And what about the child we have together? I wouldn't have her if I met someone else. And imagining my life without that little angel is impossible." She said, "What are you trying to say here, Phil?"

"I'm saying that you deserve better than this. Better than me. You always did." He nodded as AJ looked at him.

"You don't have to shrink yourself." AJ shook her head, "You're not a bad person, Phil. You've been great these past couple months. You're an amazing father, you've been patient, you've apologised more times than I can remember… that's why when that guy gave me his number I just… I didn't even want to entertain it." She said, "And when I came back to tell you about it, you just attacked me."

"I just… I thought of you going on a date with some other guy. Him making you laugh. Making you fall in love with him until I'm just some guy you used to know." Punk said.

"You could never just be some guy I used to know, Phil." AJ sighed, "You're my daughter's dad, and I love you." She shook her head as he looked across at her.

He took a few steps closer towards her as she gulped and took a step back nervously, watching as he looked at her, both of them staring at one another. She knew he was someone she could never be afraid of, and she no longer wanted to step away from him anymore.

She stepped in closer to him as he watched her, leaning up and cupping his face, pressing her lips against his softly as he kissed back gently, letting her set the pace of the kiss.

He placed his hands on her waist, feeling her lips against his, disappearing into the kiss which she deepened, taking his cap from his head and lacing her fingers through his hair. He felt the kiss deepening and picked her up, never parting from her lips as he walked through to the living room with her.

He collapsed down on the couch with her straddling over him, not parting from the passionate kiss, it was way too good. It brought her back to before. Before it all went wrong for them. Before when it was only each other that mattered.

She broke away from the kiss, looking at him as he looked up at her. They didn't have to say anything.

She took her t-shirt off, pressing her lips back against his as his hands travelled up her bare torso. Feeling him touching her bare skin was such a comforting feeling that she'd missed. Something she'd never be scared of.

He lay her down onto the couch on her back, taking his t-shirt off as she ran her hands up his colourful chest, bringing his face back down to her lips whilst he unclasped her bra from behind, throwing it away on the floor somewhere as he began kissing her neck.

She moaned out softly at the feeling, clutching his shoulder and biting her lip as she felt his lips on her neck. Something about it felt different. She wasn't sure if it was because of everything they had gone through. Or if it was the absence of him for an entire year.

He kissed down her body, using his mouth on her breasts as she rolled her head back on the arm of the couch. In that moment it felt like he'd never even left.

"Phil." She moaned softly, feeling him kiss down her body as she arched up into him.

He kissed over the few faded stretch marks at the bottom of her stomach as she smiled to herself, feeling him pull her shorts and panties down.

She eagerly undone his jeans, pushing them down with her feet along with his boxers as he smiled. He wanted her so badly. He'd dreamed and dreamed about this moment.

"Please… I want you inside me." AJ whispered breathlessly, already sweaty and breathless with anticipation.

She felt him put his hand down between them, parting her folds and finding her clit as she rolled her eyes back. Feeling him touch her there was enough to encourage an orgasm. She was desperate for it. Desperate for him. It was like she'd deprived herself stubbornly from him and was just giving in.

"Fuck, I missed you." Punk whispered, kissing her neck again as he continued to touching her between her legs. Getting so close to her like this felt like a dream, feeling her skin against his everything.

"You're gonna make me cum." AJ moaned, feeling him slip two fingers inside of her, using his thumb to stroke her clit as she arched her hips a little and held his arm, "Just like that." She bit her lip.

He watched her as she came, kissing her neck as she grabbed the back of his hair, moaning out loudly as he smiled.

"Never were a quiet one." He whispered as she smiled a little, tugging on his hair playfully as he smiled, lifting his head from her neck and kissing her on the lips.

He reached down, stroking himself up and down before finding her entrance, pushing himself into her entrance as he moaned into her mouth whilst she rolled her head back.

"Fuck." AJ moaned as Punk paused inside of her, letting her adjust before moving in and out.

She pulled his face down, kissing him passionately and wrapping her legs around him, wanting him so close to her as she felt him pulsing inside her, filling her and satisfying every craving she'd had for the past year.

"Shit." Punk whispered against her mouth, moving inside her tight walls.

She moaned as she felt him pressing against her g-spot, encouraging another orgasm as she felt him kissing her neck, "I'm gonna cum." She whispered to him, "Please." She begged, feeling herself reach her peak, arching her back off the couch.

Watching her and feeling her tighten around him was enough to make him reach his own release. He was normally good at pacing himself but he couldn't hold back, it had been too long and this was too much.

AJ watched as he came, leaning his forehead on her shoulder and spilling himself inside her as he moaned out loudly, his arms shaking as he kept himself up.

She kissed his neck, dragging her nails down his back as he continued to moan out.

"S-Sorry." Punk said breathlessly, his body still jittering, "I haven't… it's been a while-"

"It's ok." AJ cupped his cheeks and nodded, kissing him on the lips softly as he kissed back, lacing his fingers through her hair and kissing her passionately, sure that the night hadn't ended there.


	38. Moving Forward

**Moving Forward**

* * *

"It's not normally this quiet." AJ whispered, lying in bed with Punk through the night. He'd politely told her he would leave if that's what she wanted, but she wanted him to stay. She never wanted him to leave.

"Is the bitch that always complains still living downstairs?" He asked her, his arm around her whilst she tangled herself around him, her leg over him and her head resting on his shoulder.

"No, she moved months ago." AJ said, "She actually turned out to be alright. Maybe it was me who was the bitch." She said, "When I was like really pregnant, she helped me upstairs a lot." She nodded, "But I think she got evicted."

"Seems like the only way people leave this block is if they get evicted." Punk shook his head as AJ nodded.

"I've came close to it." AJ nodded, "And it was… it was fine when it was just me. I could bounce off of motels, I could figure it out on the streets but… I have to do better for Thea. She deserves better. We brought her into this world and we have to… give her as much as we can." She said as Punk nodded.

"You're doing pretty amazing from where I'm standing." Punk said.

"You weren't here when she would be crying at 4am every night." AJ said, "I first brought her home and I thought she was gonna be a quiet baby. She slept the entire bus ride. Slept like an angel. I got her home, put her in her crib and I crashed… and then she started screaming. I can literally still hear what it sounds like." She nodded, "And it went on for weeks."

"I dodged the difficult part, huh?" Punk realised.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Just means that you can deal with her when she's a teenager. It's only fair." She smiled as Punk laughed a little.

"That's the way it's gonna be?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded.

"It's fair." AJ said as he smiled, "I know we never talked about it before… when we were dating but… I did think about our future together." She said.

"Yeah?" Punk questioned as she looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Normally when you were out with Dean and I was in a motel myself, I'd fall asleep thinking about what we could have… what I wanted to have with you-"

"Well I'm listening." He said quietly, kissing her cheek.

"I imagined us living in a nice house. Nothing too big but… much better than this place." She scoffed as he smiled, running his fingers up and down her arm, "And we'd be married." She smiled, "And then we'd get a dog or a cat-"

"A dog." Punk scoffed.

"Just to test us and see if… if we were responsible enough for kids." She said, "And then we'd have two kids. One girl and one boy." She smiled to herself, "And we'd have good jobs that we actually liked going to. We'd have Christmas at our house." She smiled as he looked down at her.

"You still see all of that?" Punk asked her as she looked up at him.

"I didn't for… a long time." AJ said, "I thought it was it for us." She nodded, "It never felt real that things had ended and you were gone." She said, "Even when you came back it… I don't think it had really sunk in for weeks."

"You gonna regret this after I leave in the morning?" Punk asked her.

"No." AJ shook her head, "No, I wanted this." AJ nodded truthfully.

"I dreamed about this so much." He shook his head as AJ looked up at him, "I never thought that I'd be able to gain your trust again."

"Phil, I'm never gonna hold what you did against you. People make mistakes. Big mistakes. But the important thing is that you learned from them and you know that you never wanna go back to that place again." She said, "And I believe you."

"I promise you, I'll never hurt you again. I swear." He said. He'd never meant something so much in his entire life.

"I know." AJ smiled, cupping his cheek softly, "So… what are we doing here?" She asked him as he looked down at her.

"What do you want to do?" He asked as she looked at him.

"I want my boyfriend back." AJ nodded, "And I wanna start over."

"Me too." Punk nodded. It was like angels singing to his ears. Hearing her admit that she really wanted this, no longer having to guess what she was thinking or what she wanted. It was amazing, and he was never going to mess this up.

"I love you." She said, "And I still want a future with you." She nodded.

"I do too." He said, cupping her cheek softly, "I love you." He nodded, leaning down and kissing her softly. He'd missed this. He'd missed their intimacy, and not necessarily just the sex, but the holding and the kissing, things he hadn't realised meant the world to him before. He knew he was never going to let her down. If anything, all of this proved just how important she was to him, how much he cared about her and loved her.

"I really missed this." AJ said between kisses, moving her naked body on top of his, pulling the covers around them as she continued to kiss him passionately.

* * *

"So… you didn't come home last night." Dean said, finding Punk at work the next morning, "Did you finally get laid?" Dean figured, sitting on a stack of wood planks whilst Punk was looking at the prints for the day.

"Maybe." Punk nodded as Dean chuckled, jumping on Punks back and messing with his hair, "Alright alright." Punk laughed, trying to shake his brother off of him.

"You finally got some?" Dean asked with amazement, "I thought it was never gonna happen."

"So did I for a while." Punk admitted, "Yeah, I… I spent the night with her." He nodded.

"Damn." Dean nodded, "You must have blew as soon as she undressed."

"Yeah, pretty much." Punk scratched the back of his neck, "I don't think I've ever came so fast before."

"Over pretty quick?" Dean chuckled, amused.

"Yeah but… we did it another three times so…" He shrugged, unbothered as Dean chuckled.

"But did you guys still get to talk?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Yeah we talked after and… I don't think we're bullshitting around anymore." He nodded, "She said she wants her boyfriend back and… and I want my girlfriend back." He admitted, "I'll probably spend a lot more time at her place-"

"So now you're dumping me?" Dean folded his arms.

"Well I figured it was good timing since you keep bringing Renee around." Punk said, "I'm not moving out or anything, just… moving things along." He said, "I really wanna do something nice for her, cook her dinner or something-"

"You don't cook anything but cereal." Dean scoffed.

"I can cook." Punk scoffed as Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm not screwing this up. I got my girl back and I ain't losing her again." He shook his head.

"Why don't you take her out? Her and Thea? You still haven't gone out the three of you yet." Dean pointed out, "Go for dinner or something."

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." Punk nodded.

"You think this is it?" Dean asked him as Punk nodded.

"Yeah." Punk said, "Yeah, it was like we just threw the past away and remembered what we had before it all went wrong." He nodded, "I gotta do right by her. And Thea. They're the most important people in my life." He said as Dean folded his arms with raised eyebrows, "Yes, you're also important." Punk scoffed.

"And don't you forget it." Dean said as Punk shook his head, "Maybe this is what you guys needed to do all along, just… fuck." He said as Punk looked at him.

"Remind me how you're actually getting a girl to date you?" Punk wondered.

"Oh, no… we're not dating." Dean said.

"Well what are you doing?" Punk laughed.

"We're just… it's casual." Dean shrugged.

"You know, it wouldn't be a bad thing if you liked her." Punk said, "We could double date." He patted Dean on the shoulder.

"Over my dead body." Dean scoffed. "You just focus on your relationship and worry less about mine." Dean advised.

"Where could I take her and Thea?" Punk asked.

"Take them for dinner. Well… take April for dinner whilst Thea has a nap in the stroller." Dean corrected.

"Where, though?" Punk asked.

"I don't know, Phil. Just pick a pizza place and roll with it." Dean shrugged, "Do things feel more hopeful?"

"Hell yeah." Punk nodded, "I know we've got a long way to go still, and… what I did is never gonna go away but… if we can find a way to get past it, what we have is… it's worth saving." He nodded.

"Of course it is." Dean said, "You know April doesn't do anything half-heartedly. She seems like she wants you back in her life again, just like before… that's a good thing." He said as Punk nodded.

"I'm not gonna fuck it up." Punk promised.

"Yeah, you best not." Dean said, "Come on, help me move these into the truck." He said as Punk jumped down from the wood, pausing when he saw a cop car slowly driving by the construction site.

Dean and Punk looked over, watching the car crawling very slowly.

"It's Hamilton." Punk noticed as Dean looked over.

"Why the hell is he down here?" Dean shook his head as Punk watched the car slowly driving by.

"No idea." Punk shook his head, watching the car anxiously.

"Come on, let's get these loaded." Dean said as Punk nodded, continuing to watch the car as it drove off before grabbing some things to load onto the truck.


	39. Mistakes Are Following

**Mistakes Are Following**

* * *

"This was a nice idea." AJ said, sitting in a restaurant the next night with Punk. Thea was asleep in her stroller beside them. She thought it was sweet that Punk suggested they go out. For once nothing felt uncertain or held back.

"It's weird actually having money, right?" Punk nodded, "Well… legal money." He scoffed as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it makes a huge difference." AJ nodded, "How has your job been going?" She asked him. Of course it wasn't as easy as pretending like the past year hadn't happened. It was always going to be there, but it was somehow getting easier to move past it and remember that this was the man she loved with all her heart.

"My job?" Punk questioned as she nodded, "It's ok. I have fun with the guys. Working with Dean isn't so bad either."

"Really? Working with Dean sounds like my exact nightmare." AJ nodded as Punk chuckled a little.

"He can be ok sometimes." Punk nodded. It was things like this, simple things, like taking her out for dinner, that he used to dream about when they were living in motels. All he ever wanted was the best for her, and it still killed him that he fell short in the end, "What about you? How is your job going?"

"Yeah, it's good." AJ nodded, "Like you said, it's good to have extra money. Makes… such a difference. Especially with Thea." She said.

"You happy working in the coffee shop or… is there something else you wanna do?" He asked her.

"I'm happy working there. I think it's a good job and the pay isn't the worst." AJ nodded, "I have looked at resitting school exams." She said, "Sounds ridiculous-"

"No it doesn't." Punk shook his head.

"We left school so early, I… I barely have any qualifications." She said, "So if I can resit them somehow and… I don't know, I like the idea of writing. I'm not really sure what but… I think it'd be a nice job… maybe writing for the paper or something." She smiled, "Way out of my reach, I guess." She laughed.

"Hey, you can do anything you put your mind to." Punk nodded, "You should do it. I'll… I'll help and support you in any way that I can." He said as AJ smiled, "I think it's a great idea."

"Not very practical, though." AJ shrugged, "I should be just focusing on making money where I can-"

"No, you should be working towards something you want to do." Punk nodded, "Put yourself first for once." He assured her as she smiled.

"I don't know." AJ shrugged modestly, "I don't know if it's what I even want… if it's just one of those weird fantasies that I have." She said, "What about you? Is there something you want to do?"

"I've honestly never thought about that. I think when it comes to us it was always just about making it to tomorrow. Getting by each hour at a time and taking each day as it came." He said as AJ nodded, "I mean… I'm never gonna be a suit and a tie walking into an office job." He assured her as she smiled.

"Shame." AJ said, "That'd be hot." She nodded as he smiled.

"So… what-what are we doing?" Punk asked, "I hate to be that person who needs clarification or whatever but-"

"Look, I just… when you got out I was still hurting. I was mad at you and seeing your face just brought it all back. I didn't know if it was just gonna be that same guy who got arrested, coming back into my life. But… it's not. You're amazing with Thea. And you respected everything I asked… it's the Phil I remember meeting and falling in love with in the first place." She said as he smiled, "And that's the guy I wanted to have a future with and spend my life with." She nodded.

"I promise you…" Punk said, reaching over and taking her hands, "I'm never gonna let you down again. I was so dumb then, so stupid and lost." He said, "I'd never let myself go back there again."

"I believe you." AJ nodded. She really did, that's what made this easier for her, "I just want to move on." She said, "I want us to move on." She nodded as he smiled.

He was about to lean forward to kiss her when suddenly Thea began to stir in the stroller, letting out cries as Punk turned.

"Hey, missy." Punk looked over into the stroller as AJ smiled, watching as he scooped her out, "She planned that." Punk scoffed as AJ chuckled.

"Out to get you." AJ nodded with a smile, watching as he cradled Thea in his arms. It was a reminder that it wasn't just the two of them anymore. It wasn't a ride or die relationship. It was family. It was everything and more.

"Do you think she looks like me?" Punk wondered, looking down at Thea who had quietened down.

"Sometimes." AJ nodded, "When she's grumpy."

"Nice." Punk nodded, "I can't imagine her not being here." Punk shook his head. He didn't know it until now, when he got to meet his daughter, but being a father was the most important thing to him, and he knew for sure it'd be the best thing he'd ever do in his life.

AJ smiled as she watched him soothe Thea back to sleep. It was all she'd ever really wanted. To be a family together, to enjoy this crazy life with him by her side. They'd been through enough, together and individually, to know how important family and love was.

"She loves you." AJ smiled. It was the best sight in the world.

"You think?" Punk smiled, looking down at Thea who was falling asleep.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "I'm glad you got to meet her." She said.

"Yeah, me too." Punk said with relief. He counted himself extremely lucky that he did get to meet his daughter. He knew he could have done more time in prison, and the thought of missing any of this little angel's life broke his heart. Every second counted. He knew that now.

"Hey, you wanna get the cheque and get some ice-cream on the way home?" AJ asked him as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, sure." Punk said, smiling down as he watched Thea.

* * *

They eventually left the restaurant and stopped in at an ice-cream parlour to take away some ice-cream. When they got to AJ's apartment, Punk began to notice a cop car parked outside on the street, giving him an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"I don't even have a TV for us to watch a movie or something." AJ shook her head.

"Hey, a little human interaction won't hurt." Punk turned to her with a smile, "Why don't you go on up, I'll get the stroller." He told her.

"I can help you with it." AJ said.

"No, I'll get it." Punk said, "You go scoop the ice-cream." He smiled.

"Ok." AJ nodded, walking on into the apartment block, holding the door open for him as he took it and smiled, watching her head away upstairs as he paused and turned around, noticing Hamilton getting out of the car.

Punk looked across at him standing by his car. He nodded to him, encouraging him to come over which he eventually did.

"You following me?" Punk questioned curiously as Hamilton looked at him.

"No, just on the beat." Hamilton nodded, "I didn't know you were out until a few days ago." He said.

"Why would you care?" Punk asked as Hamilton shrugged.

"I just think it's quite the chance the court took with you, decreasing your sentence like that." Hamilton said.

"I did my time-"

"Did you?" He questioned, "One year ain't shit for what you did." He spat as Punk looked at him.

"I don't know what your problem is with me, but I did my time. I paid for what I did and I'm not involved with that sort of thing anymore." Punk made clear, "There's no reason for you to be following me. I've got nothing to hide."

"I feel sorry for your kid." Hamilton nodded as Punk glared at him, "And I feel sorry for that poor girl that you're manipulating-"

"You know nothing about me or her." Punk spat, "Why don't you just stay the hell away from me?"

"Oh, you've made your bed… you're gonna lie in it now." Hamilton nodded.

"What the hell does that mean?" Punk shook his head.

"It means scum like you never get better." He said, "You might be fooling that little bitch up there, who is just as rotten as you anyway, but you're not fooling me." He shook his head as Punk glared at him.

Hadn't he been a police officer, he would have threw a fist in the man's face, "You finished?" Punk asked as Hamilton looked at him.

Punk watched as the man was about to walk away until Hamilton turned around and spat on his face. The control he had to gather to not completely lose it was something he'd never quite went through before.

He turned his head and wiped his face, looking back to the police officer who stood smugly in front of him. The only reason he'd done something so degrading was because he knew he could use his authority to get away with it.

"You have a good evening." Hamilton nodded, turning around and walking back to his car as Punk stood watching.

He eventually walked into the apartment block, bumping the stroller up all the stairs and getting into the apartment.

"Hey, what took you so long?" AJ asked from in the kitchen, "I said I could help."

"Sorry, I was just taking my time." Punk said.

"Well the ice-cream is melting." AJ laughed to herself.

"I'll just be a second, I'll put Thea down in her crib." Punk said.

"Ok." AJ called back happily, he could even sense the happiness in her tone. He was trying so hard not to let what had just happened, ruin the positive progress he and AJ were making.

He got Thea out of the stroller and headed into the bedroom, checking her diaper was clean before putting her down in her crib. He then walked through to the bathroom and washed his face.

"Phil?" AJ questioned, walking into the bedroom and hearing him in the bathroom, "You ok?" She wondered, walking over to the bathroom as he walked out.

"Yeah." He smiled and nodded.

"What were you doing?" She shook her head.

"Taking a leak." He said as she nodded.

"Ok, well this ice-cream is now… warm-cream." She laughed, looking over Thea and smiling at her so peacefully asleep with her little hands above her head.

"Ok ok, I'm coming." Punk smiled, wrapping his arm around her as they left the bedroom and headed through to the kitchen.


	40. Watching

**Watching**

* * *

"I really missed this." AJ said, curled into Punk in bed later on through the night. It was such a good feeling to have him intimately again. She'd missed it so much, and she felt like now she was able to go back to that place again with him, where he could take all her worries away and everything would be fine.

"Yeah, me too." Punk admitted. He wasn't expecting her to want him to spend the night again, he was just going along with things, but the more he did stick around, the more he could see her guard slowly coming right down, and he wasn't going to take that for granted.

"Did you get frustrated in prison?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah, of course I did." Punk laughed a little as she smiled, "What about you?"

"Yeah, it was tough." AJ nodded, "Because let me tell you, being pregnant, it's an extremely horny time." She said as he chuckled.

"I'm trying to imagine you more horny than you already are and it's… it's a good thought." He nodded as she smiled, "Is that why you have a sex toy in your drawer?"

"What?" AJ lifted her head a little, "W-What-"

"I found it. I was looking for a pacifier-"

"In my underwear drawer?" AJ shook her head.

"I didn't know it was your underwear drawer." Punk laughed as she groaned with embarrassment, "Hey, you got needs, I think it's hot." He shrugged.

"Well obviously you do." She said, "Your penis was needed her." She said as he laughed and nodded.

"I wish it could have been here." Punk nodded as she chuckled.

"You know what's weird?" AJ asked him.

"What?" Punk said.

"This doesn't even feel weird. It's just like before." She said, "It's like you've never left."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Punk figured.

"Well yeah but…for the first couple months, everything felt so wrong, so weird and difficult." She said, "Now it just feels… normal again. Happy." She admitted.

"Well I think we've got everything we have to say off our chests." Punk said, "We don't have to make long speeches about what we mean to each other. We've lived it. If we can go through all that shit and still somehow make it back to one another… I'm just gonna let fate do its job." He put his hands up as AJ laughed a little.

"You think this is fate's work?" AJ smiled a little.

"Well… fate and a lot of apologising." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Life just wouldn't be the same without you." AJ shook her head, "I think back to when we first met, when we left our parents' house and just… took off into the world." She said, "I used to think the excitement was from being out on my own, or being out in the world and having no one to tell me what to do." She said, "But the excitement was you." She looked up at him.

"Yeah, but the trouble was also me." He nodded.

"Hey, I was no angel either." AJ said.

"You learned from them, though. You grew up. You were wise and smart. I didn't learn anything." Punk shook his head.

"You have now." AJ nodded.

"I just wanna do better for you. I wanna do better for Thea." Punk said, "I didn't even know my dad growing up. My mom was just constantly in trouble. I hated that. I hated her." He said, "I couldn't do that to my own kid." He shook his head.

"And you're not." AJ said, "We make mistakes. Some… larger than others." She said as he scoffed and nodded, "But we gotta move on. I want to move on, Phil." She nodded. She finally had the bravery to admit that she still wanted a future with him, and even though the past was always going to be there, she could find it in her to move on from it, because she loved this man.

"Truth is, I don't deserve you." He nodded as she shook her head, "I don't."

"No one deserves anything in life. You're a good person. No matter what, you've always kept me safe, you always made sure we had a place to stay and we had food, you kept me happy." She nodded, "You're an amazing father."

"Yeah, wait until she grows up and finds out what I did." Punk said.

"Hey…" AJ said with concern, "So what if she does? She's gonna see that you learned from your mistakes, you grew up and you were there for her." She said as Punk nodded.

"I don't want her to grow up in this place." He admitted as AJ looked at him, "I want her to have her own room. A back garden to play in. I could… I could get her a little swing set. I bet she'd be on it for hours." He said as AJ smiled, "I could… I could save up my money and get a car. So we can take her places." He nodded to himself as she smiled.

"Sounds like she's gonna be spoiled." AJ smiled.

"Yeah, she deserves it." Punk nodded, "You worried?" He turned to her.

"About what?" She asked.

"The future?" He asked her.

"No." AJ shook her head, "I used to be. When I was here on my own, I couldn't get a job, I had no money… Yeah, I was worried about every day." She admitted, "But we can do this together. I'm not scared about it anymore." She shook her head as he nodded.

"I promise I'm not gonna let you down." He shook his head as she smiled, cupping his cheek and looking up at him.

"I know." She said, leaning up and kissing him softly. It was nice to be able to think about a future together, a future they wanted to create. They knew it wouldn't be easy, but being determined enough, and having a child to support, it was definitely a driving focus.

"This feels wrong." Punk groaned against her lips as she climbed over him.

"What?" AJ laughed.

"She's literally in the room." Punk looked over to the crib in the corner of the room as AJ turned around, "What if she hears?"

"She's a little baby. She doesn't know anything about anything." AJ scoffed, "She'll stay sleeping." She shrugged, leaning down and kissing his neck as Punk gulped, "You weren't complaining earlier."

"Well… I was already… you know." Punk said as AJ looked at him.

"Well I can fix that." AJ smiled, kissing down his body as Punk watched her, holding the sheets up as he watched her disappear under, stroking his length up and down as he moaned out softly.

She then used her mouth on him, bobbing her head up and down as Punk looked down at her. He'd for sure missed this for obvious reasons, but the fact she was allowing him to get close to her again like this told him everything he needed to know. He knew she wasn't the type to throw her love around recklessly. This meant something. It always would.

He pulled her up as she eventually guided his length towards her entrance, sinking down on him and leaning forward to capture his lips.

"Fuck, baby." Punk moaned, grabbing her ass as she smiled, kissing his neck and moaning at the feeling of him inside her.

"Would you feel better if I did this?" She asked, taking the sheets and pulling them over them until they were fully under.

"This does help actually." Punk nodded as she chuckled, pressing her lips against his as she began moving her hips up and down on him, moaning against his mouth whilst he ran his hands up her back..

* * *

"He spat on your face?" Dean asked angrily, "And you didn't punch him?"

"What was I supposed to do? He's a cop. I punch him and I'm arrested." He shook his head, "Trust me, it took a whole lot for me not to sock him one." Punk said, sitting on the back of a work van the next day with Dean who was taking a smoke break.

"What the hell is his problem?" Dean shook his head, "Why is he following you?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Punk said, "He said I've made my bed, now I'm lying in it." Punk said as Dean turned to him, "I think he's getting at me going back to Rio… which I'm not." He said.

'Doesn't mean he has a right to be on your ass like that. You ain't done anything wrong." Dean said, "You think he's gonna be keeping an eye on you?"

"I don't know." Punk shrugged.

"You told April?" Dean asked.

"No, not yet." Punk shook his head, "I was gonna tell her last night but… she seemed really happy and… things are going really well for us." He said, "I'm kinda hoping Hamilton just fucks off on his own."

"Yeah, maybe he's just trying to sniff you out. Once he sees you ain't hiding anything, he'll get bored." Dean nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully." Punk shook his head.

"So you stayed at April's again?" Dean smiled.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "I swear I'm gonna make this work. That's my family." He said, "I got a second chance at this and I'm not fucking it up." Punk shook his head.

"You're doing good." Dean nodded, "You've done good. You gotta leave the past… in the past." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"She deserves the world." Punk nodded, "They both do." He thought to himself.

"You think she trusts you again?" Dean asked.

"I think we're getting there." Punk nodded, "It… it just feels like old times again. Like when we first started dating." He said.

"Just keep doing you. Take it slow and take each day as it comes." Dean advised, "And fuck that dick Hamilton. He'll clear off once he gets bored of looking for something that ain't there." Dean shook his head as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I hope you're right." Punk nodded to himself, "Things finally feel like they're looking up. I'm not… I'm not letting him ruin it. I got nothing to hide." He shook his head. There was no reason for him to feel nervous. He had nothing to hide anymore. He'd done his time and he was starting over.

"Exactly." Dean nodded, "Come on, we best get back to work before Kofi has a heart attack." He said as Punk nodded, jumping off the back of the van as they headed back to the site.

Meanwhile, Hamilton was parked in a car not far away with his partner, officer James Gibs.

"That's him?" Gibs asked.

"Yeah, the one with the cap on." Hamilton nodded.

"You reckon he's one to watch?" Gibs asked.

"I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw." Hamilton said, "I've been on his mom's case for years. Drug offences, prostitution, theft." He nodded, "Kids like him don't escape that kind of life."

"How long did he do?" Gibs asked.

"Just a year. Not long enough to put the fear in him." Hamilton said, "I'll be watching him." He nodded


	41. Moving Up

**Moving Up**

* * *

_Three years later…_

"What time you leaving at?" Dean asked, sitting in the kitchen with a bag of chips whilst Punk taped a box shut, one of the last boxes.

"I'm just waiting until I see the super and then we can go." Punk said, "April is already at the house with Thea."

"This is the last box?" Dean asked.

"One of, yeah." Punk said, "The rest are in the car." Punk nodded.

"Why you waiting on the super?" Dean asked.

"So I can give him the keys." Punk said.

"Well I can wait and give him the keys." Dean said, "You go take the last boxes to the house and I'll wait."

"You sure?" Punk asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Dean nodded, "Go. Go help April unpack the boxes." He said as Punk nodded.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "Thanks, man." He patted Dean on the back, grabbing one of the last boxes and walking out of the kitchen, pausing for a second as he looked through to the empty living room in the very broken down apartment.

He remembered being thrilled when they first got this place. It was their very first home. No matter what the condition was, it was somewhere they felt was theirs, somewhere they felt safe and at home. They'd been through a lot in this place, and he felt some goosebumps travel his arms as he took a final look at the empty rooms.

"You need help?" Dean called from the kitchen as Punk looked around and shook his head.

"No, I'm all good." Punk nodded to himself, "See you later."

"I'll swing by once I've gave the keys in." Dean called as Punk nodded, walking out of the apartment and heading down all the stairs.

He left the apartment block and walked over to the car, dumping one of the last boxes into the trunk and shutting it over as he looked around the neighbourhood. He wasn't sad to be leaving this place.

* * *

"Finally." AJ opened up the door as she watched Punk get out of the car, "I had to call the electrician." She told him stressfully as Punk grabbed some boxes from the trunk.

"Why?" Punk asked, walking towards the door.

"I was changing a light bulb upstairs and it literally blew up in my face." AJ said.

"You are a little bit of a clutz." Punk nodded.

"Hey, I did nothing wrong. The actual light socket is damaged." AJ said, "So I called the electrician and he's coming tomorrow morning. It's in the spare bedroom so it's not urgent." AJ shrugged.

"Ok, well I'll be here tomorrow morning." Punk assured her.

"Did you give the keys to the super?" AJ asked, taking a box from him and sitting it at the bottom of the stairs.

"No, he wasn't back yet so Dean said he'd wait and give them in so I could get these boxes along." Punk nodded.

"Oh, that was a good idea." AJ nodded, "So far I've gotten Thea's things unpacked. Mainly because she spilled jello down her outfit and also wanted to play with her little ponies." AJ waved her hand, "Which… were in the very last box I unpacked of hers." She scoffed.

"If that's not the world trying to tell you it hates you… I don't know what is." Punk said as AJ laughed and nodded.

"This is kinda stressful." AJ realised, placing her hands on her hips. She was wearing some shorts and a t-shirt with her hair tied back and a cap on, which Punk could see she meant business.

"It's not stressful." Punk scoffed, "You're just freaking out." He said, suddenly noticing some of the freshly painted walls chipped at the edges, "Who chipped the paint?" Punk freaked, putting down his box as AJ raised her eyebrows, "Look at those chips." He looked closely as AJ folded her arms and raised a brow as he looked up at her, "Which…. Is totally fine." He waved his hand as AJ chuckled and nodded.

"Is this the rest of the kitchen things?" She asked him, taking the box and walking through to the kitchen with it where some other unpacked boxes lay scattered around.

"Where is the monster?" Punk asked.

"Checking out the back garden." AJ pointed out the window as Punk looked out, watching as their daughter was sitting on the grass with her toys, "When I showed her the garden at first she asked if this was her own park." AJ smiled as Punk laughed a little, "Wait until she finds out she gets her own room." She said as Punk smiled and nodded.

He watched as Thea played with her ponies on the grass. A lot had happened in the past three years. A lot of change. Very good change. But the one thing he felt so blessed to have been first row viewing at, was getting to watch his daughter grow. Getting to hear her first words, see her first steps, take her to her first haircut, celebrate her first birthday and two more after that. It was incredible how much this adorable little person meant to him.

"I got a feeling it might be difficult getting her to come inside." Punk laughed a little, watching Thea in all her glory. She was definitely AJ's mini me. She had dark hair and eyes, a mischievous but adorable smile, and a very energetic and fun personality already.

"Yeah, you can be in charge of that." AJ laughed to herself, unpacking some of the kitchen utensils as she felt Punk wrap his arms around her from behind.

"This is mad." He admitted honestly as AJ nodded.

"I think I'm running on stress. When everything is unpacked I think it'll eventually sink in." AJ said, "We actually have a house." She shook her head as he smiled, kissing her neck.

It wasn't easy. It was three years of picking up every shift they could at their respective jobs. It was budgeting their money so much that they sat in darkness at times in the apartment so save money on their electricity bill. It was not being able to go on as many dates as they'd like, because saving the money was more important.

But eventually, they were able to afford a place. An actual house with an upstairs and a back garden. A house where their daughter no longer had to sleep in the same room as them.

"Listen to this." AJ said, backing away and grabbing one of the boxes, "Hey, Phil… can you take this upstairs?" She smiled as he looked at her with confusion, "We have an upstairs!" She squealed as Punk chuckled to himself and nodded.

It was very surreal coming from where they had come from and finally getting some joy and luck after sacrificing and working extremely hard.

* * *

"Why are you crying?" Punk walked into Thea's bedroom as he saw the three year old crying in her new bed.

"I'd like to go home now." Thea told him tearfully, quickly drying her tears.

Punk watched her as she swung her little legs out of bed and hopped down onto the floor. She was wearing some Lion King pyjamas and her hair had been braided before bed, courtesy of his very skilful girlfriend.

"What you doing, babe?" Punk asked casually, walking further into the room as he watched his three year old pull out her backpack from under the bed.

They'd spent the most time in Thea's room, trying to get it ready for her right away. He could tell it meant the world to AJ being able to give their daughter her own room, with her own space, her own closet and dressers. It was a very good feeling as a father.

"I'm packing my bags." Thea said, kneeling down on the floor.

"Where you going?" Punk asked her, sitting down on her bed.

"I'm going home, daddy." Thea nodded, standing back up and running over to her bed to grab her stuffed teddy bear whom was called Harold. Harold of course was the first thing she was packing in her backpack.

"But this is our home now, baby." Punk nodded to her.

"No, I have my home." Thea nodded, "Ten beef." She said.

"Ten B." Punk corrected. Their apartment was ten B, for some reason, it became ten beef once Thea started grasping words.

"What else do I need?" Thea hummed to herself as Punk watched her. She was fascinating. She definitely keep them on their toes. It was such a life altering experience getting to see her grow, and he counted his lucky stars every day that he hadn't missed watching her grow. She was his absolute world, and his best friend, and to raise her with the woman he loved was something very special.

"Hey, come on… isn't this place so much better?" Punk asked her as Thea looked at him, "Look… you have your very own room. This place is all yours." He looked around as Thea looked around the room.

Back at the apartment, all three of them had to share the one room. It wasn't ideal. It was cramped and difficult, but of course Thea didn't mind. It was all she knew.

"I don't know." Thea mumbled.

"And what about the garden?" Punk asked her, "You didn't have that at Ten beef." He reminded her, "You can play in it all day, and hey… we can get you a swing… in a couple months." He said.

"Daddy, they have swings at the park." Thea rolled her eyes.

"But this could be your very own swing." Punk said as she looked at him, "You just gotta get used to it." He said as Thea huffed, unpacking Harold from her backpack and pushing it back under the bed.

"But what if I don't like it?" Thea asked, walking over to her bed and climbing up as Punk helped her.

"I promise you will." Punk nodded, pulling the covers over her as she lay down.

"I don't know." Thea mumbled, sitting back up as Punk looked at her, "I don't like it." She decided.

"You've not gave it a chance." Punk said.

"I don't want to." Thea concluded.

"But this room is so pretty." Punk said, "It's all… pink and… unicorns." He looked around, "You didn't have any of this at our old home." He said as Thea looked around, "I bet you'll wake up in the morning and you'll love it." He said as Thea lay back down.

"But if I don't then we have to leave." Thea said as Punk chuckled a little.

"You just close your eyes." He nodded as Thea closed her eyes over, opening them back up suddenly.

"There might be monsters." Thea realised, sitting back up as Punk took his cap off and ran his hand through his long black hair. He'd made the transition from blonde to black over the past few years.

"Me and mommy checked before we came. There's no monsters." Punk nodded to her as Thea took his hand, unconvinced and needing protection.

"Look under my bed." Thea said as Punk nodded.

He got off the bed and crouched down, looking under it, "All clear." He said as Thea jumped down and crouched down, looking under the bed as Punk watched her really scan the area. He then gave her a fright as she squealed, attacking him and jumping on him as Punk chuckled, rolling back onto the floor as they messed around very loudly.

"What is going on in here?" AJ raised her eyebrows, walking into the bedroom.

"Mommy, we were looking for monsters and daddy scared me." Thea said, out of breath from all the playing as she jumped on top of Punk again who was allowing such abuse.

"Monsters?" AJ laughed a little.

"Yes." Thea said.

"You are way too hyper, missy." AJ said.

"Don't missy me." Thea mumbled as Punk chuckled.

"It's way past your bed time. Come on." AJ nodded as Thea ran back over to her bed.

Punk sometimes got a little carried away. He forgot about his responsible role as a parent and concentrated a lot on being the fun one. It was difficult at times, being so young, for both he and AJ. But they were doing alright, and they were raising the most perfect little girl in his eyes.

"Ok, I'm going." Thea said sassily. She definitely got her attitude from her mother. Punk could definitely see. She was very stubborn and sassy. Very blunt and straight to the point.

"How comfy is this bed, huh?" AJ smiled, leaning forward and kissing Thea's head softly as Punk stood up from the floor, "Have the sweetest dreams, my baby." She said, kissing Thea's cheek as Punk smiled.

To be where she was as a new mom when she first brought Thea home from the hospital, on her own with no money and no support, to be here, putting her daughter to bed in their first house, it meant a lot. A whole lot.

"Yeah, goodnight, baby." Punk said, leaning over and kissing Thea goodnight before they both left the room.

AJ stayed at the doorway, watching as Thea turned around in bed to get comfy, her little starry night light shining beside her. She couldn't help feel emotional and teary.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked, noticing her wiping tears.

"Yeah." AJ waved her hand, drying her tears, "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled as Punk nodded. He understood.

They eventually headed downstairs where a lot of boxes were still lying around unpacked. It had been a busy day moving into their new house.

"I can't face another box." AJ shook her head, walking through to the kitchen.

"Me neither." Punk said tiredly, running his hands over his face as he watched AJ sitting down at the kitchen table where he noticed her books were all sitting opened, "You're studying?" He said with awe.

"I have an exam tomorrow afternoon." AJ reminded him as he nodded.

"You feel prepared?" He asked, sitting down beside her at the table.

"A little." AJ nodded.

Whilst balancing a full time job, she had also managed to get an education at the same time, having been going to college for two years. It wasn't easy. Some days she would be at college all day and then head straight to work to pick up a nine hour shift. They were definitely grinding hard, but having this new home, it was very worth it.

"You need me to give you a ride tomorrow?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, please." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"She kept saying she wanted to go back to ten beef." Punk nodded as AJ smiled a little.

"Well she'd be the only one." AJ laughed a little as Punk nodded, "I just… I can't believe we're actually in the house." She said, looking around at the kitchen, "I mean it never felt real when we bought it but to be in it…" She shook her head with amazement.

"Well we worked hard." Punk said as AJ nodded, "How you're managing to go to college at the same time is just… you're like a superhero." He said as AJ smiled and nodded.

"I am, aren't I?" She nodded as he smiled, "Truth is… I'm way too tired to study right now." She admitted, "I can get up early." She closed over her notebook and slid it away, standing up and walking over to Punk, straddling over him on the chair as he laughed a little.

"I thought you were too tired?" Punk laughed.

"I said I was too tired to study." AJ nodded, pressing her lips against his passionately as he kissed her back, holding her by the waist as he deepened the kiss.

"You sure you don't wanna get an early night?" Punk asked her.

"We just got our first house." AJ scoffed, "We're putting on a show in all of these rooms." She assured him as he chuckled and nodded, taking her lips back against his as she took his cap off and threw it away.

* * *

**A/N: The drama awaits… Thanks for reviewing and following the story! There's more to come so stay tuned.**


	42. Growing

**Growing**

* * *

"Are you just gonna sit here eating my food all day or are you actually going to help?" Punk shoved Dean's head as he walked into the kitchen, finding his brother preparing a sandwich which he had overloaded with chips.

"If you want me energized you're gonna have to give me a minute." Dean told him as Punk rolled his eyes, picking up a box and sitting it on the kitchen table.

"Come on, I really wanted to have most of the big stuff done before AJ gets back." Punk said.

"Where even is she?" Dean asked.

"Taking her exam." Punk said as Dean nodded.

"And where's the other one?" Dean asked as Punk raised a brow.

"The other one? As in… my daughter?" Punk asked as Dean nodded, "She's in the garden." He said as Dean stood up and looked out the window.

"Why is she wearing a cap? There's no sun." Dean scoffed as Punk turned to him, "Stop trying to turn her into you." Dean shook his head.

"Hey, what can I say? The girl likes her hats." Punk smirked as Dean sat back down at the kitchen table, "She's not all convinced with this place."

"Really?" Dean chuckled a little.

"Yeah. Last night she said she wanted to go back home." Punk said.

"Well can't you just say that this is her home now." Dean shrugged.

"Well yeah, but she's a kid, Dean. Things aren't that simple." Punk shook his head. Being a dad had definitely opened him up to a world of patience. He was still learning but he tried his damn hardest to be the best.

"She'll get used to it. Nobody likes change." Dean shrugged, "Even though that apartment was a shithole." He shook his head as Punk nodded, "This place is real nice, though. For real, I'm proud of ya." Dean said as Punk nodded, "You guys worked hard."

"Yeah, and it doesn't stop there. Getting the house was tough but keeping it, keeping on top of the bills is gonna be even tougher."

"Hey, we get decent pay. AJ does too, and when she graduates maybe she'll get a fancier job. Bring in the bacon." Dean said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, well hopefully. It's just weird to think three years ago I was… I was in prison." He shook his head, "And April was all alone with Thea."

"You don't gotta think back to that." Dean said, "You guys have come a long way these past few years. You've grown as individuals and as a couple. It's very clear to see."

"I know." Punk nodded, "It's just… it's always there in my mind, though. You know?"

"And maybe that's not a bad thing. You can look back to where you were three years ago and look at how far you've come." Dean nodded, "How far we've all come. We were stealing things and living in motels… what feels like not so long ago." He said as Punk nodded to himself.

"I'm just so glad April gave me a chance." Punk shook his head, "Cause she didn't need to."

"Well she loves you." Dean said.

"I think we're closer for it." Punk admitted, "Even just the past few weeks, getting ready to move into this place, I've never felt closer to her."

"Making waves, brother." Dean nodded, watching as his niece came into the kitchen from the back door.

"Dee!" Thea smiled excitedly, running over to her uncle. She was very close to her uncle. She had many sleepovers with him over the years and he was really the only other family she had next to her mom and dad.

"You want some chips?" Dean asked her, shaking the bag.

"She's just had her lunch." Punk said as Thea climbed up onto the chair beside Dean.

"And? It's chips." Dean scoffed, "Here, have some." Dean nodded to Thea who smiled. She always felt mischievous with her uncle for sure.

"Dee will you take me back home?" Thea asked as Punk looked over, unboxing a box with all their pots and pans.

"This is your home." Dean told her.

"My old home. Ten beef." Thea nodded.

"Ten beef is gone. They bulldozed it down." Dean shrugged.

"Dean." Punk hissed as Dean chuckled to himself.

"No, you can't go back there, sweetie. This is your new home. It's so much better." Dean said, "I'd wanna live here." He said as Thea looked around.

"It's too big." Thea said as Dean turned to Punk.

"She wants to go back to the crack blocks." Dean shrugged, "Good luck for the teenage years." He saluted as Punk scoffed.

"It's not too big, baby." Punk shook his head, "It just means you have more places to play. You already love the garden."

"Maybe I do." Thea nodded.

"And your room. It's so pretty." Punk shook his head as Thea listened.

"It is pretty." Thea agreed, folding her arms, "Dee, can I show you my room?" Thea asked, jumping down from the chair.

"Can I eat my sandwich first?" Dean asked as Punk glared at him, "Yes, ok. Yes come show me this pink unicorn room." Dean said as Punk smiled, watching Thea grab Dean aggressively and pull him out of the kitchen as he chuckled to himself.

He was unboxing more things when he heard AJ come home, watching her walk through the kitchen and throw her keys over on the table.

"Hey." Punk shook his head, "What's wrong?"

"I done so bad." AJ said, as if she was in physical pain.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"My exam. It went so bad." AJ placed her hands over her face.

"Oh, honey I'm sure you just think that. I bet you did great-"

"No, Phil. I'm serious." AJ said, taking her jacket and cap off, tossing it onto the table, "I left three questions blank. Three." She said with stress.

"And I bet you made up for it on the other questions." Punk nodded.

"The worst part is… I then spoke to my lecturer after it and I told him that I couldn't study as much because I was moving into the house. So I basically told him I had failed anyway." AJ said.

"Hey, come on… you don't know anything yet. You could have done way better than you think. Don't be so hard on yourself." Punk said, wrapping his arms around her as she sighed. She needed his hug right now, "You deserve to celebrate just for sitting the damn thing. It's more than I could ever do."

"I know but you're lazy." She said sweetly as he laughed a little and nodded.

"I know." Punk nodded, "I bet you did amazing. And hey, if it's not the best score in the world, that's ok too." He reminded her, cupping her cheeks as she looked up at him.

When she began her college journey, she never expected him to be so supportive. She of course expected him to support her and encourage her, but not to the extent that he always did. It was so special getting to move on with their lives together, to leave their mistakes and their pasts… in the past.

"You're so nice to me." AJ squished his cheeks as he laughed a little, "Now where's my baby I need a Thea hug?" AJ said desperately.

"Showing Dean her room." Punk nodded.

"I thought he was here." AJ said, "Chips on the table, dirt on the welcome mat… did he smoke in here?" AJ smelt the air around.

"He went outside." Punk nodded.

"Did the electrician come?" AJ asked him, picking up Dean's sandwich and having a bite.

"Yeah, fixed the light socket." Punk said, "So we can get cracking on the spare bedroom. Our room is almost finished. I just gotta build that last set of drawers." He said as AJ nodded.

"What about the living room?" AJ asked him.

"Go look." He smiled.

AJ walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, smiling upon everything being unpacked and looking beautiful. It felt like a dream. To the average, fortunate person, it was just a living room like any other, but to them it was amazing.

"It's so nice." AJ shook her head, sitting down on the soft couch.

She couldn't wait to curl up to him at night, watching movies and kissing. This felt like their home. They'd worked hard for this.

"We're almost there." Punk said as she nodded.

"You didn't have to do this on your own, I could have helped when I came back." AJ said.

"No, you were out stressing over your exam. I got this." Punk nodded, "Dean was supposed to help me but he just sat in the kitchen eating."

"Well… what's new?" AJ shrugged, listening to the sounds of footsteps coming downstairs, watching Thea run into the living room.

"Mommy!" She smiled excitedly, jumping onto AJ.

"Oh, hi squish." AJ smiled, squeezing Thea tightly, "Mommy needed this hug." AJ sighed.

"Are you ok, mommy?" Thea asked, cupping her mother's cheeks sweetly as AJ smiled.

"I'm great now." AJ smiled.

"I showed Dee my room." Thea said as AJ looked up at Dean.

"Very pretty, I have to say." Dean nodded, "My favourite thing were the unicorn drapes. Nice touch." He nodded as Punk chuckled.

"I picked them." Thea said excitedly.

"Man, you're such a lucky kid." Dean said as Thea looked at him, "You got an amazing room, a whole garden to yourself, cap n crunch… you're all set." He said as AJ and Punk smiled, "Lucky you got good parents, kid." Dean nodded, patting Punk on the back as he left the living room, leaving Punk and AJ smiling to each other.

Although they were working hard for themselves, they of course were doing all they could do provide for their baby girl, and give her a better life than they had as kids. She was their world and keeping her safe and happy was just such a main priority.

"April, did you eat some of my sandwich?!" Dean yelled from the kitchen as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"No, Phil did." AJ said quickly as Punk rolled his eyes.

"I think we should have pizza tonight." Punk said.

"Every night." Thea tried as they laughed.

"Since mommy is finished her exam today, and we're almost moved in." Punk said as AJ smiled.

It was so strange to think of where their relationship was over three years ago. The hurt and the pain they went through. The lives they lived. Struggling and making mistakes, together and individually. She truly believed they'd came out stronger on the other side, and she'd never felt closer to him like she did right now. Growing this way, from reckless teenagers to where they were now, it wasn't something many people got to experience and see.

"I'd like just cheese." Thea nodded, "And a cookie. May I have a cookie?" She asked excitedly, sitting on AJ's knee.

"Oh, yeah. I want in on the cookies too." AJ nodded.

"Ok. Pizza and cookies." Punk noted, "Deano, you staying for pizza and cookies?" Punk called.

"Obviously!" Dean called back as AJ smiled, looking around the living room as Thea spoke to her. Punk watched with a smile. Those two girls were his everything.


	43. Still Issues

**Still Issues**

* * *

"Fuck, baby." Punk moaned, laying up in bed as he watched his girlfriend moving her hips up and down on him in reverse, watching her ass slapping against his hips as she moved up and down eagerly.

"Fuck." AJ moaned, rolling her head back, pressing her hands on the mattress in front of her as she moved her hips up and down on him, biting her lip as she felt herself on the edge.

The past few mornings waking up in their new house had lead towards such activities.

"Jesus, baby…" Punk moaned, running his hand through his hair whilst holding her waist with his other hand. All he could see was her back area, but seeing the way her hips moved was so sexy.

"Yes, make me cum." AJ nodded, feeling herself on the edge, stroking her clit whilst bouncing up and down on him, feeling him slap her ass as she laughed, "Mmm, do it again." She moaned, feeling him slap her ass again, which only turned her on more as she found her release.

Punk smirked as he listened to her coming, feeling her movement slow down as her body shook, feeling how wet she had gotten around him as she collapsed her back against his chest, tilting her head and looking at him.

"Did you just-"

"Mhm." AJ smirked, "Angles." She said as he nodded, reaching his hand over her and parting her folds. His length was still deep inside her, and he began stroking her clit as she rolled her eyes back, "I'll do it again." She warned.

"I know." He whispered in her ear, stroking her clit as AJ moaned, feeling herself getting closer and closer again.

"Fuck, keep doing that." AJ gulped, feeling her body starting to tingle again with his quick movements, "Yes…" She gasped, feeling herself lose it again, feeling her juices squirt out as Punk smirked and kissed his neck, "Fuck." AJ said breathlessly.

"I love it when you get messy." Punk smirked as she smiled and nodded.

"Me too." She smirked, turning around on top of him, kissing him on the lips and down his neck, travelling down her body until she took his length in her mouth, bobbing it up and down as Punk moaned and watched her.

"Fuck, baby… just like that." He moaned softly, "Let me see that pretty mouth." He said as AJ released him from her mouth, looking up at him with doe eyes as she opened her mouth back up and took him in, bobbing her head right down and up, releasing him only for air.

"Give me your cum." AJ moaned, stroking him up and down with her hand, using her mouth back on him until he finally was ready to blow.

She smirked and lay down on the bed as he sat up, stroking himself over her as he felt his release, all of the blood rushing to one area as he spilled himself over her breasts and face whilst she played with herself.

"Fuck." Punk moaned breathlessly, watching as she stuck out her tongue as he chuckled, shoving her over on the bed as she giggled and rolled over onto her stomach, looking back at him as she watched him collapse.

"Just setting you up for the day, baby." AJ smirked, grabbing a pillow and resting her head on it as she looked at him.

"By making me wanna stay here in bed all day with you?" He asked as AJ smiled.

"That would be nice." AJ nodded, "But you gotta go to work and I… gotta go to college." She said as Punk nodded.

"You picking a shift up at the coffee shop after?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah. Once I'm finished with college I'll pick Thea up from playgroup and take her to the shop with me." AJ nodded.

Having a child whilst working was extremely difficult, to the point where Thea had to come to work with them if they couldn't figure out a schedule. Especially when saving for the house and now having to pay for bills every month.

They managed to get her into a playgroup which she absolutely loved. It helped she was a very energetic, outgoing little person, and they really felt like it helped her development as a toddler, moving up. Between her going to playgroup and juggling their shifts around, sometimes it just meant she had to come by the coffee shop and sit for a little while whilst AJ finished a shift. They did what they had to do.

"I need to take a shower." Punk said, running his hands through his hair.

"Me too. I really can't go to college like this." She said.

"No, you definitely can't." Punk laughed, standing up from the bed as AJ rested her head on her hand, tilting her head a little as she checked him out, "Stop staring at my ass." He said, spotting her looking in the mirror as she smiled.

"It's a good ass." AJ nodded, watching him walk away to the on suite bathroom they had in their room.

Sometimes she couldn't quite believe it. Looking at how far they had come, what obstacles they had gotten over, together as a couple and individually. It was extremely humbling for them to be in such a beautiful house. She was just soaking it all in.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Punk asked, rushing around the kitchen at breakfast time as he watched Thea sitting, holding her spoonful of cereal over to her bear's mouth, "The cereal is for you, not him." Punk reminded her as AJ looked over and smiled whilst getting her college books in her bags.

"Harold will go hungry." Thea said.

"I think Harold will be fine." Punk said, pouring Thea some orange juice, "Careful." He said, putting the glass down beside her as Thea nodded.

It was incredible to have watched their daughter grow. From bottles, to sippy cups, to regular cups. It was something so beautiful, something he was so glad he was apart of.

"When we get home tonight we really have to get cracking on the spare bedroom." AJ nodded to him, taking a bite of her toast whilst also feeding Punk a slice. Morning time was always a chaotic rush. Not because of Thea, because they were both very late and unorganised people. Thea normally sat and watched them quietly ironically.

"All the boxes are in, we just gotta unpack everything." Punk said.

"Good, because I'm not gonna feel moved in until it's all done." AJ said.

"Yeah, I know." Punk said, "What you doing for dinner?" He asked her.

"Babe, what do you want for dinner?" AJ asked Thea who was feeding her bear some cereal whilst also having some herself.

"I don't know." Thea shrugged.

"I'll figure something out when I get home." AJ waved her hand.

"You want me to pick you up?" Punk asked.

"Oh, could you? That'd be good." AJ nodded, "I finish at 6." She said as Punk nodded.

"I'll be there just after." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Ok, I have to go or I'll miss my bus." AJ said, checking in her bag to make sure she had all her books for her morning college class, "Do I got everything?" She hummed to herself as Punk noticed her wallet on the kitchen counter.

"Might need this." He said, passing it over to her.

"Yes, this… this is important." AJ scoffed, throwing the wallet in her bag, "Ok… I'll see you later." She said, leaning up and kissing Punk sweetly as he smiled, "Be good at playgroup, baby." AJ turned her attention to Thea, hugging her from behind as Thea nodded.

"I'm always good." Thea said.

"Oh, don't I know." AJ said, kissing her head, "I'll pick you up when you're finished, ok?" She said as Thea nodded, watching as AJ quickly left the house, turning to her father and gasping as she noticed his hair wasn't tied back yet.

"Daddy." She smiled.

"What?" Punk turned to her.

"Can I do your hair?" She asked as Punk nodded.

"Sure." Punk said, walking over to the table and pulling a chair out, sitting down in front of her. Sometimes he deliberately didn't tie his long hair back, because he knew Thea liked to do it for him, "Here." He passed her back the band he kept around his wrist as she took it, bunching his hair together, "Remember get all my hair in it." He said.

"Ok." Thea hummed, bunching his hair together and wrapping the band around it, "There." She smiled.

"Good to go." Punk nodded, reaching over for his cap and putting it on as Thea inspected her handy work.

"Let me finish my cereal." Thea said as Punk nodded. She didn't like to be rushed that was for sure.

* * *

"So you're almost officially moved in?" Jenna asked, later that day once AJ had arrived for her shift. Her boss was so great with allowing her to bring Thea into the shop. She got to sit in the back and watch a movie with a cake pop or do some drawings. It helped that she was a content child.

"Almost." AJ said, standing behind the counter, "We just have the spare bedroom to fix up and then… yeah, we're officially moved in." AJ said, "It's just… it's so crazy. I'm trying to take it all in." She said.

"Well from the pictures you showed me, everything looks beautiful." Jenna nodded, "And you deserve it." She said as AJ smiled.

"Well you and Grace will need to come visit one night." AJ said.

"Oh, definitely." Jenna agreed as AJ handed out another coffee, suddenly watching as an unpleasant but familiar face walked into the shop, "I'm gonna take this trash out whilst it's kinda quiet." Jenna said, walking on by with the trash bag.

AJ was about to ask her if she could serve in her place, but Jenna had already disappeared out back, leaving her no choice.

"What would you like?" AJ asked, staying pleasant.

"Just a coffee." Hamilton smiled as AJ nodded, turning around to prepare the coffee.

"Taking away?" AJ asked him.

"Yes please." Hamilton said as AJ nodded.

Over the past few years, they could only best describe it as stalking. Hamilton had been on their case many times, looking for things that weren't there. She and Punk both decided to just ignore him. They had absolutely nothing to hide, but it was proving to be a little difficult, as he kept appearing every now and then, as if investigating them.

It was a very degrading feeling. She knew they had their mistakes, they'd taken their wrong turns, but that was in the past and they had moved on. A whole lot.

"Is that everything?" AJ asked, placing the cover over on the counter Hamilton nodded, handing the cash to her.

"You move?" Hamilton asked her as AJ looked up from the cash desk.

"Not your business." AJ said.

She knew if they tried to report him to the police, it wouldn't have been taken seriously. The whole station knew who they were, they both had criminal records and there was no way they would be taken seriously. That was the difficult part. They were just having to put up with it.

"Maybe not." Hamilton nodded, picking up his coffee, "Thank you." He raised his coffee to her with a smile before leaving the shop.

He appeared deliberately just to remind them he was watching. It made her feel so small and constantly reminded her of what people thought of them. People like him. It wasn't easy biting their tongues and letting him scrutinise them for doing absolutely nothing wrong. She knew it could only go on for so long until both of them had enough.


	44. Harassment

**Harassment**

* * *

"He came into the coffee shop?" Punk asked, sitting on the spare room floor later that night with AJ as they tried to build a dresser. Thea was in her parents room watching a movie.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, taking her cap off and running her hand through her hair, hugging her knees.

"What'd he say to you?" Punk asked her.

"Nothing really. Asked if we had moved. I said it was none of his business." AJ shrugged as Punk shook his head.

Over the past few years they had many run ins with Hamilton. Some worse than others. In the simplest of terms it was all kinds of harassment, threatening and abuse, and they couldn't felt like they could do anything because of his authority status. Having someone degrading them, remind them of where they had come from, not letting them move on… was very challenging.

"You'd think the guy would be bored by now." Punk rolled his eyes as AJ nodded.

"I'm so fed up of it." AJ said tiredly, putting her cap back on as Punk looked across at her, "Obviously he thinks that we haven't legit bought this house. He's probably looking into our bills and our income right as we speak." She shook her head.

"Yeah and he ain't gonna find shit." Punk reminded her, "He's wasting all of his time and energy. Pathetic dickhead." Punk shook his head.

He'd made a lot of enemies in his type, a lot of people had rubbed him the wrong way and angered him, but not to the extent of Hamilton. Never had he known someone so smug, so disgusting in all his life.

"When do we say… enough is enough, though?" AJ asked, "Yeah, he disappears sometimes for a couple months, but then he's back, sniffing around, following us… checking in on us at work." AJ said, "It's not right."

"I know, but what do we do?" Punk questioned, "We go to the cops and you and I both know, no one will do shit about it." He said, "They all know our names down there. They'll laugh in ours faces and send us on our way." He said as AJ nodded.

"It's just exhausting." AJ shook her head, looking down at the ground and sighing as Punk watched her, "He's harassed us… threatened us… I got racially abused in the street one time." AJ said as Punk looked at her, "When will it end?" She shook her head.

"He just… he has a perception about us." Punk nodded, "But we know we're not doing anything wrong. We… We got nothing to worry about-"

"I know we don't but he's just constantly there. Makes me feel so small." She sighed as Punk shuffled over to her, wrapping his arm around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. It felt like they could never escape their past.

"He's a horrible person. A terrible cop." Punk nodded, "He gets his kicks out of feeling like he's above people. He's racist. He's a pig." He said as AJ nodded, "But he's never gonna get anything out of this. We can't let him. We did this on our own. We bought this place because we worked damn hard for it." He said as AJ looked up at him, "No one is taking that away from us." He assured her as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I know." AJ sighed, "I just wanna move on and I feel like he's making sure we don't."

"Fuck him." Punk spat, "He ain't getting to us." He shook his head.

There had been times where he really had to focus on not attacking Hamilton, especially for the things he had said towards AJ. It was difficult to not defend themselves and fight back. They knew if they did he would somehow manage to use it against them, and given they both had a reputation at the local police station, it wouldn't have been smart. The only reason he said all the horrible things he said, and harassed them, was because he knew they couldn't do anything about it.

"I kinda just want someone to be proud of us." AJ admitted, taking her cap off and sitting it beside her, "Just to recognise that we did work really hard, and we got ourselves out of that… dungeon apartment. That we did better for Thea-"

"I'm proud of us." Punk nodded, "Dean is. My buddy's at work. Your buddy's at work." He said as she smiled, "People are proud, trust me." He said as AJ smiled.

"Hello children!" Dean called as he waked into the house.

"Upstairs." Punk called to him as Dean walked upstairs and into the spare bedroom where they were sitting on the floor.

"Last room to unpack?" Dean asked them.

"Last room." AJ nodded tiredly, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to borrow that shirt I asked you about today." Dean turned to Punk who nodded.

"Oh, yeah. It's in my closet hanging up." Punk said.

"Shirt?" AJ scoffed, "Why are you wanting to wear a shirt?" She asked him.

"Me and Renee are going to Vegas this weekend." Dean reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. This weekend." AJ remembered, "Are you excited?" She asked.

"Hell yeah. It's Vegas." Dean nodded.

"Don't jizz all your money away." Punk laughed.

"No, I'll be responsible." Dean promised, "Renee keeps me in check." He nodded, referring to his girlfriend of three years whom he lived with in his apartment.

"Good. You need to hold someone's hand when it comes to things like that." AJ nodded.

"No I don't." Dean scoffed.

"Oh, you don't?" AJ laughed, "How about the time you played human frogger, whilst intoxicated might I add, the night of my birthday when we wound up in that club-"

"Yeah… and did I get hit by one single car?" Dean asked her as AJ rolled her eyes, "No, I didn't." He said triumphantly as Punk shook his head.

"When are you back anyway, idiot?" AJ scoffed.

"Sunday." Dean nodded, "Ok, where is this shirt at?"

"It's in my closet." Punk said as Dean nodded, leaving the spare bedroom and heading into AJ and Punk's bedroom which Thea was lying in the middle of watching the TV. The fact she was lying in the centre of the bed made her look so tiny.

"Hey, you." Dean smiled.

"Hi, Dee." Thea smiled calmly. She was used to her uncle coming in and out of her life.

"What you watching then?" Dean asked, opening up the dresser and looking through Punk's clothes.

"Toy Story." Thea said.

"Oh, that's one of my favourites." Dean smiled, looking over at the TV and then looking back at Thea who was sat in the middle of the pillows, "Look at you, sitting like the queen."

"I am the queen." Thea nodded as Dean chuckled to himself.

"Maybe you are." Dean said, finding the shirt he needed from his brother and pulling it off the hanger, closing the closet over and turning back to the TV.

He found himself standing watching the TV for several minutes, having to snap out of it to eventually leave the room, walking back into the spare bedroom where AJ and Punk were trying to assemble a set of drawers.

"Got it." Dean said.

"Don't lose it." Punk shook his head.

"I won't." Dean said, "Don't you two trust me with anything?" He questioned as AJ chuckled to herself, choosing not to answer.

"Is Thea ok in there? She's quiet." AJ said suspiciously.

"She's fine. Watching Toy Story." Dean nodded, "She looks so small sitting in the middle of the bed." He laughed.

"I know that's what we were talking about." Punk nodded.

"She thinks she's the queen." Dean said.

"Oh she is the queen." AJ corrected as Dean laughed a little.

"When do you fly out?" Punk asked him.

"Tomorrow morning." Dean said, "You guys off this weekend?"

"I am." AJ nodded, "Phil has to work Sunday." She frowned.

"Well you can do something on Saturday." Dean shrugged as they nodded.

"Hamilton came into the coffee shop today." Punk said as Dean turned to AJ.

"What'd he want?" Dean asked.

"What'd you think?" AJ said, "Nothing." She shrugged, "Asked me if we'd moved and I just said it's none of his business."

"I hate that son of a bitch." Dean spat, "I swear his time will come." He said as Punk nodded.

"It will." Punk agreed.

* * *

Later that night, Punk and AJ took Thea out for some ice-cream after dinner. They still lived in the neighbourhood which they grew up in, just in a little calmer part of town compared to their old apartment.

"What flavour do you want?" Punk asked Thea, holding her hand as she pressed her hands on the glass, tip toeing up to see all the different flavours of ice-cream, even though she got the same thing every single time.

"Baby can you just get me a coffee?" AJ asked Punk who nodded.

"You don't want ice-cream?" He asked curiously.

"No, I'm not really in the mood." She said as Punk nodded, "What flavour are you getting, sweetie?" She asked Thea.

"I don't know." Thea sighed.

"We're up next, gotta be quick." Punk said, smiling to AJ as they watched her look curiously at all the different flavours. Being a parent was very difficult, at times he even questioned if he was doing any good at all, but they definitely put a lot into being the best they could be, trying every day to provide all they could for their daughter, and give her a fun, content, happy life.

"I don't know I don't know." Thea jumped up and down nervously.

"Why don't you try something new?" AJ suggested, "Like strawberry or… look at that one… mango." She said, "Sounds nice." She pointed, crouching down and helping her look at the different ice-creams. Punk smiled as he watched on.

"I'll just have vanilla." Thea shrugged as AJ smiled, looking up at Punk who nodded. They figured she would have that anyway.

Punk ordered the ice-creams for him and Thea, as well as a coffee for AJ, and they both left the parlour to walk home. Thea was holding Punk's hand whilst her other hand held her ice-cream cone.

"This is good coffee." AJ nodded as Punk smiled, "Is it bad that I'm actually worried about Dean going to Vegas." She laughed a little.

"No, I'm worried too. He can be real stupid sometimes." Dean said.

"Renee is responsible, though. She'll keep him in check." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I just hope they don't have a fight like the last time they went away for the weekend." Punk said.

"No, they've been going strong for a while now." AJ nodded, suddenly feeling Punk step beside her a little closer as she got confused, looking up and noticing the cop car parked with Hamilton standing outside, leaning against the car.

"Just cross over." Punk nodded to her.

"Phil, we can't cross here." AJ said, looking at the busy road as Punk sighed to himself, "Just walk by him and don't say anything." She said as Punk nodded, holding Thea's hand tightly and walking down the sidewalk.

"Enjoying the new house?" Hamilton asked casually as Punk paused.

"Aren't you tired?" Punk shook his head, turning around to Hamilton as AJ watched cautiously.

"Tired of what?" Hamilton asked, "I'm on duty on this street tonight-"

"No, you're following us." Punk concluded, "We came out to get some ice-cream, buddy. There's nothing for you to find." He said as Hamilton looked at him, turning to AJ.

"You're not usually this quiet." Hamilton nodded to AJ.

"I have nothing to say." AJ said.

"Rare for a Puerto Rican-"

Before Hamilton could even finish, Punk stepped forward. When it came to him, he could hold control, but when it involved AJ or Thea, he couldn't stand back.

"Phil, just leave it." AJ placed her hand on Punk's arm, "Seriously." She said, worriedly, noticing the anger on her boyfriend's face.

"Do as your told." Hamilton smiled smugly, "Don't wanna end up back in the slammer, do you?" He asked, "Although… I'd bet my life on you ending up there again eventually anyway." He said as Punk glared at him.

"Phil, let's go." AJ said, tugging on Punk's arm whilst Thea stayed holding her father's hand, standing closer to him whilst looking over at Hamilton, "Come on." AJ nodded as Punk glared at Hamilton. At this point, it was all he could do. He always deliberately cornered them in a public area, where witnesses could be found. Punk knew the game he was playing.

"You're wasting your damn time." Punk spat, turning away and walking off down the street with AJ and Thea as Hamilton smiled as he watched.


	45. Reckless Decision

**Reckless Decision**

* * *

"You gotta find the edges first." AJ said, later on one night as she sat on the couch with a puzzle in front of her on the coffee table. Thea stood beside, wrapped up in her Lion King bathrobe which had a hood with ears that she always put up. She was just fresh out the bath and normally Punk and AJ let her come downstairs and watch TV before going to bed.

"I'm trying." Thea said with frustration, standing beside AJ and looking at all the pieces of the puzzle.

Strictly speaking, the puzzle was for AJ, Thea just liked to pretend she was helping.

"Here's one. Let's try it over here." AJ grabbed a piece as Thea watched, "Ok, that fits there."

"Go mommy!" Thea cheered as AJ smiled, "Another one. Have to find it." She mumbled to herself, looking at all the pieces closely as AJ watched her with a smile. She was so sure she'd made the cutest kid in the world.

"Look at all the green ones." AJ nodded, leaning over and looking through the pieces as Thea watched.

"Puzzle time?" Punk questioned, walking into the living room.

"Just started a new one." AJ nodded as Punk sat down on the couch beside her, getting a sweet hug from Thea who sat up on his knee.

"You helping mommy?" Punk asked Thea who nodded.

"Yes." Thea answered.

"She's helping me find the edge pieces." AJ nodded.

"I thought this was a one player activity." Punk hummed.

"It is where you're concerned." AJ scoffed.

"I am an excellent puzzle… maker." He said as AJ laughed.

"You're terrible. You get cranky and impatient. Plus you're also color blind which won't help us." She said.

"I am not colour blind." Punk chuckled.

"Then what colour is this?" AJ asked, holding up the puzzle box which was a dark green colour.

"It's blue." Punk said confidently as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Green." AJ nodded.

"It's like a green slash blue colour." He said smoothly.

"It's straight up green." AJ nodded as Punk scoffed, sitting back on the couch with Thea who was playing her hand in his hair. As a baby and toddler, she used to fall asleep with him, with her hand through his hair, and sometimes she still did.

"How long you reckon this will take?" Punk asked her.

"Couple nights." AJ shrugged as Punk nodded, looking down at Thea falling asleep in his arms.

"I think it's a little lion's bed time." Punk hummed as AJ smiled, watching as Thea opened her eyes wide again.

"No, not mine." Thea declared as Punk chuckled.

"Yes, you." He said, "Say goodnight to your mama." He said as Thea huffed.

"Goodnight, mommy." Thea said, jumping down from Punk's knee and walking over to AJ, giving her a tight hug as AJ smiled.

"Oh, goodnight my sweetheart." AJ smiled, kissing her on the cheek as Thea then ran off, taking Punk's hand as she watched them leave the living room.

It was madness to think of how she started off parenthood all on her own. She was so glad that they had worked things out, because they got the incredible experience of raising their baby girl together and watching her grow, and that was something she couldn't imagine doing without Punk.

She continued with her puzzle, concentrating hard on finding the pieces when she heard someone come in the front door.

"It's me." Dean called as AJ looked up, watching as he came into the living room, "Looks like a fun night here." He scoffed as he saw AJ doing a puzzle, "You never used to be this boring, Mendez. What happened?" He teased as AJ smiled.

"It was really nice having a break from you for a couple days." AJ teased back as Dean grinned.

"Sure it was." Dean said, "Where is Punker?" He asked.

"Upstairs putting Thea down." AJ said, "How was Vegas?" He asked.

"Amazing. God, you guys need to go." Dean nodded.

"Really? I figured we have all the stuff Vegas has to offer here." She said, "Booze, prostitutes, clubs, drugs-"

"How do you know that's what I was talking about? How do you know I wasn't talking about the… Vegas culture? Or the… the architecture-"

"Yeah, right." AJ scoffed, "Did Renee enjoy it?"

"She had a blast. We had a blast." Dean said as AJ smiled.

"Well I am glad. I know you've always wanted to go." AJ nodded. She remembered being sixteen and hearing Dean go on about going to Vegas one day.

"All four of us should go next time. It'd be crazy." Dean nodded.

"Do you… forget that your niece exists sometimes?" AJ questioned as Dean groaned.

"Send her to boarding school for the weekend or something." Dean shrugged as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Hey, man." Punk smiled, walking into the living room as he saw his brother, "How was Vegas?" He asked, embracing his brother hello before sitting back down beside AJ, eager to hear about his brother's trip.

"We're going with him next time apparently." AJ nodded to him.

"Dude, it was amazing." Dean said, "The clubs… the bars… I mean-"

"There's clubs and bars here." Punk scoffed.

"No, this shit is next level." Dean nodded.

"So you had fun?" Punk chuckled, noticing a piece on the jigsaw puzzle that would fit, "Here, that goes here." He said.

"Oh, thank you." AJ smiled happily.

"You two are fucking boring." Dean groaned, "I remember a time when you two used to make me look boring." He said, "Is this what getting a new house does to you? Because… I ain't ever moving." He said worriedly.

"There's nothing wrong with a jigsaw puzzle." AJ shrugged, "Plus it's Sunday night. Sundays are always boring." She waved her hand.

"You're boring." Dean said childishly as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Did Renee have fun? You weren't staring at hookers or anything were you?" Punk worried.

"Hey, what do you take me for?" Dean said, "No, we had fun. A ton of fun, if you know what I'm saying." He smirked as AJ looked up, "What? I can't make innuendos now?"

"No, I'm just interested." AJ shrugged.

"Oh." Dean said, "In me… having sex?" He questioned as Punk turned to AJ.

"Oh, what? Guys can talk about having sex but girls can't?" AJ scoffed, putting another piece of her puzzle in.

"No, girls can… just… not with their boyfriend's brother." He cringed as AJ shrugged.

"So we've established you had a good time." Punk chuckled as Dean nodded.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, looking at them both as they looked at more of the puzzle pieces, "Yeah…." He said a little worriedly as they both looked up, "So maybe I did something a little stupid." He confessed as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Tell me you didn't get arrested." Punk groaned.

"No… no, I didn't get arrested." Dean said.

"You got into a fight?" AJ assumed.

"No… no fight." Dean said.

"Did you… steal something?" Punk asked.

"No, well… if you don't count all of the hotel's complimentary shit-"

"If it's complimentary… that means you can take it." AJ shook her head.

"Oh, really?" Dean asked.

"Yes." AJ said.

"Oh… so no stealing." Dean said positively.

"Dean, what did you do?" Punk questioned worriedly.

"You didn't take any drugs or anything?" AJ pointed at him, "I will slap your damn head off." She stood up.

"No… no, I was all clean." Dean defended, "I… me and Renee, we sort of… kinda of… maybe got married." He said as Punk raised his eyebrows as AJ's eyes widened.

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"Y-Yeah… we were really drunk and at the time it was like the greatest idea ever." Dean said.

"Oh… Oh, no this is worse than being arrested." Punk spoke to himself, placing his hands over his face.

"They let you get married whilst you were drunk?" AJ questioned with confusion, "And… what about a marriage licence?"

"Yeah, well… we got that. There's a place in the Nevada you can get it." Dean said, "So we… went there and then… got married." He said.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Punk shook his head, "You got married?"

"Yeah." Dean shrugged.

"And what is Renee saying?" AJ questioned, in absolute shock. She had so many questions, she felt like she was standing with her mouth open just bursting to ask everything that came to her head.

"Well… we chuckled about it at first." Dean said, "And then… on the plane back we kinda didn't talk. It was kinda sinking in that we actually got married. And then when we got home she was like… asking me about it, what I thought and I said… it feels kinda nice."

"Oh, you are kidding me." Punk looked at him, "Dean… this is marriage." He stood up with confusion, "Like… husband and wife, til death do us part shit-"

"Yeah and I really love Renee." Dean said.

"God, I don't know what's more shocking, the fact you got married or the fact you actually want to stay married." AJ shook her head, it was all very shocking.

"Hey, I've been with Renee for three years." Dean said, "I love her. She's been there for me. Maybe in my subconscious drunk mind, a part of me did actually want to marry her." He said as AJ and Punk looked at him.

"But you were drunk." Punk said.

"And so was she." Dean shrugged.

"Dean, come on." AJ said, "Do you really want to be married right now?" She questioned.

"Ok, maybe ideally… we could have waited." Dean nodded, "But… I know I wanna be with Renee, and she feels the same." He said, "I'm not gonna divorce her to get married in a couple years again."

"You gotta work at a marriage, though." Punk shook his head.

"It's not any different from how we are anyway." Dean said, "I love her and I know I wanna spend the rest of my life with her." He nodded as AJ looked at him, folding her arms, "Can you please just respect that?"

"Only you would do something so damn stupid." Punk said.

"Are you kidding? Tons of people get married in Vegas. I'm pretty sure the whole thing is aimed at very drunk couples." He said as Punk rolled his eyes, "If you two went and got married, I wouldn't question it."

"Well we wouldn't." Punk said, "That's the difference." He said, "I love Renee. She's great. She's great for you and you two are good together, but… I don't know if you're ready for marriage. You're twenty four."

"Yeah and you knocked her up when you were nineteen." Dean pointed to AJ.

"Hey, don't go there." AJ said.

"It's not even the same thing." Punk scoffed.

"It's worse, if you ask me." Dean put his hands up as Punk looked at him angrily, "But I didn't judge you, I encouraged you, gave you advice on how to make it work." Dean looked across at him, "Look, I wanted to come here for some advice on what to do, how to make it work… but, you've made your opinions perfectly clear." He nodded.

"Dean, come on, man-" Punk began.

"I'm not a kid." Dean reminded him, heading for the living room door, "Thanks for the help." He shook his head, walking out the living room and leaving the house as Punk turned to AJ who was still shocked.


	46. What You Want

**What You Want**

* * *

"You should go talk to him." AJ nodded as Punk turned to her.

"I'm not chasing after his ass." Punk shook his head stubbornly and sat down on the couch.

"So maybe they made a… drunk mistake. They didn't hurt anyone, nothing bad happened… and if… if this is what they want-"

"Do you think he wants this?" Punk questioned, "This is Dean we're talking about."

"Yeah and he loves Renee. I know that much." AJ said, "It sounds like it was a drunk mistake that they actually… don't regret doing. And we shouldn't judge that." She said.

"I wasn't judging him-"

"Well…" AJ said, "A little maybe."

"I'm just shocked. Shocked that he actually wants to be married." Punk said.

"What's wrong with being married?" AJ raised a brow curiously.

"Well nothing but… we're so young-"

"Not so young…" AJ shrugged, "We have a three year old."

"I know that but… it's different." Punk said, "I just… I don't want him to regret it. Or I don't want it to be difficult for them to the point where they break up or-"

"If they love each other they'll make it work." AJ said, "You know he looks up to you, right?"

"There's one year between us." Punk scoffed.

"Doesn't matter." AJ said, "You're the only… father type figure he's head. He probably came here looking for encouragement."

"I'm not trying to be negative." Punk said, "I'm just… I just don't know if it's what he wants-"

"And he's telling us it is." AJ said, sitting down beside him on the couch, "I know you care about him and you like to protect him. But he's a big boy, he can make these decisions on his own now. You don't have to take care of him like before-"

"Him getting married in Vegas, drunk… kinda proves I do." Punk rolled his eyes.

"I'm just as shocked and taken back as you, but if they've realised that being married… is something they want." AJ said, "We support it, we love it." AJ nodded.

"And when we're at the divorce party in a year?" Punk questioned.

"Oh, don't be so negative." She pinched him as he winced, "Those two are a match made in heaven. Dean never gave us negative opinions when we had… when I had Thea." AJ said, "He wanted to be there. He is here. He never held it against us."

"It's just… it's not the same thing. You realise when he said that… he was comparing his mistake to ours… don't entertain him saying that shit." Punk shook his head.

"Is that what you're angry about?" AJ realised, "He didn't mean it like that." AJ assured him.

"Oh, yes he did." Punk nodded.

"He's just angry." AJ said, "You have to go speak to him."

"No." Punk folded his arms like a child as AJ looked at him.

"Yes." AJ said, "Just talk to him, listen to him… if this is what he wants, we should be happy for him." She said as Punk sighed. She didn't think they were in a position to judge anyone's decisions, especially not Dean's. To see Dean happy, also made her happy.

"I'm not going." Punk said stubbornly.

"I'll be naked when you come back." AJ whispered in his ear as Punk sat still, thinking to himself, "Lying on the bed." She whispered as he began to shake his leg uncomfortably, trying not to listen to her, "No bra." She said, "No panties-"

"Fine, you evil woman." Punk stood up with agitation as she smirked, "Fine." He said as AJ smiled.

"Say hi to Renee for me." She said as Punk stormed out of the house.

* * *

Punk headed over to Dean and Renee's apartment, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer, which he eventually got from Renee.

"Oh, hi Phil." Renee smiled.

"Hey, Renee." Punk nodded, giving her a hug, "How you doing?"

"I'm good." Renee smiled, "How is April?"

"Yeah, she's all good. She says hi." Punk said as Renee smiled, "Is Dean home?"

"Yeah, he's through in the kitchen. He's just brought the Jack out." Renee nodded.

"That bad, huh?" Punk raised his brows.

"I know what you must think…" Renee shook her head.

"No, I… I came to apologise and talk to him." Punk said.

"I know you're just concerned because you love him." Renee nodded. She had expected him to react this way, knowing how close he was to his brother.

"Yeah. I don't think it came across very well." Punk admitted, "Do you mind if I-"

"No, go ahead." Renee nodded, "I'll be in the living room." She said as he smiled, tapping her on the arm friendlily and walking on down to the kitchen where he saw his brother pouring himself a drink.

"Here to lecture me some more?" Dean asked.

"I wasn't trying to lecture you." Punk said, "I came here to apologise."

"Because you want to or because AJ sent you." Dean said as Punk looked across at him.

"I knew I had to, she just gave me the shove." Punk nodded, sitting down at the table with him, "I just want what is best for you. You know that, right?" He said as Dean looked down, "At the end of the day, you're still my little brother." He said.

"That's why I came to you for some support." Dean looked at him.

"You had to anticipate that I'd be shocked and… concerned." Punk said, "This is marriage. Dean, this is huge."

"It feels normal. I love Renee. If it wasn't now, it was gonna be… in a couple years." Dean said, "Our intoxication just… moved things along a little."

"Yeah and I know you got something great with her. That's why I'm concerned about it being too much. You don't wanna ruin what you have." Punk said.

"It's not too much." Dean said, "It's right. I wasn't even scared when I realised we'd gotten married. I was like… I'm agreeing to spend the rest of my life with this amazing woman, why am I gonna be mad about that?"

"It's not about being mad-"

"I thought you would understand what it felt like to find someone you can't live without." Dean said as Punk looked across at him and sighed.

"I do get that." Punk nodded, "But I also know that marriage can put pressure on people. You see how miserable Kofi is right now, going through his divorce at work." Punk said, "I just… normally it's something you have time to think about and you're… you're rushing on into it. I want you to be sure."

"I'm telling you I am." Dean nodded as Punk looked across at him, "And… and so is Renee. We want this. It's a good feeling." He said as Punk looked at him.

He could tell his brother was being legit. He was only ever concerned because he cared. The most important thing was that his brother was happy. That was what mattered the most.

"If this makes you happy, then it makes me happy." Punk said as Dean looked at him, "I just… I feel like I've concentrated so much on being a good role model for you since we were kids… when really it's… it's always been the other way around." He nodded, "Who am I to judge anyone for decisions they make? I've been to prison for mine." He said as Dean looked at him, "I just want you to be happy. Both of you."

"I am." Dean assured him, "Yeah, when we realised what we did it was… it was terrifying and we weren't sure what to do but… then we got to think about it and… it doesn't seem so scary." He shook his head, "I thought I'd come to you and you'd tell me to… go with what feels right-"

"I should have." Punk nodded, "I was just… I was in shock. I was just spewing out words and I should have thought before I said anything." He said, "If you're happy, that's all that really matters." He said. That would always be the most important thing, "I'm just… bummed I never got to be best man." He said as Dean chuckled, appreciating the light hearted joke.

"We'll just need to do it big when you get married." Dean nodded.

"It's gonna take a long time for me to get used to you actually being married." Punk said, "I still think you're like… sixteen."

"I still feel like I'm sixteen." Dean admitted.

"Yeah, me too." Punk scoffed.

"I get it if you think this is ridiculous." Dean nodded, "But I love Renee, she's there for me, we just… we geat each other." He said, "You know what I'm talking about-"

"Yeah, I know." Punk smiled. He knew what he had with AJ, and it was obvious his brother had found the same in Renee. And he was so happy because he deserved happiness, "Damn it, you didn't get a bachelor party either." He realised as Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, we're gonna have to sort that out." Dean nodded as Punk smiled.

"Come here." Punk stood up, pulling his brother in for a hug. It was a little bit of a shock, but if it was what he wanted, he had no reason to question anything. He knew this wasn't just some fling he was having, he knew Renee meant everything to him, and he was happy for him.

* * *

Punk got home later that night. He spent some time at Dean and Renee's place just chatting to them. He had no doubt they would make this work, he could see the love they had. They were both made for each other.

He got into the house and locked up, making his way upstairs. He stuck his head into Thea's room to check on her, smiling upon her fast asleep in her bed, hugging into her bear, whilst her starry night light imprinted stars up the wall.

He carried on towards his own bedroom, opening up the door and walking in where he saw AJ lying naked on her stomach, reading her book.

"Hi." Punk shook his head.

"Oh, hey." AJ nodded, "Sorry, I got bored." She said, "And you took a long time."

"I stayed chatting for a little bit." He said, "How long have you been waiting?" He laughed a little.

"Couple hours." AJ nodded, "You missed out on the position I was in earlier." She hummed as he smirked, "Then my legs got sore from waiting." She said as he smiled.

"They still sore?" He asked.

"No." She smiled, tossing her book over on the night stand, standing up off the bed as she walked over towards him, "Are you just gonna stand there all night?" She asked him, playing with the loop on his jeans as he smirked.

"No, I didn't plan on it." He said, looking down at her as she smiled, "You know I'm gonna marry you one day, right?" He nodded as she looked up at him.

"I know." She said softly, giggling as he suddenly picked her up, walking over to the bed and laying her down as she helped him take off his clothes eagerly.


	47. Invitation

**Invitation**

* * *

"I have to go to college." AJ moaned, lying on her side the next morning where she felt Punk kissing her neck, cupping her breasts from behind her.

"Do you really?" Punk hummed as AJ smiled, leaning her hands back and touching him over his boxers.

"You'll make me late." AJ sighed, yet rolling over on top of him, sitting up and straddling his hips as he watched her.

"You can be late." Punk shrugged as she smiled, leaning down and kissing him seductively.

"I'm always late." She hummed, pressing her lips back against his, feeling his hands run down her waist towards her ass which he squeezed, causing her to smile against his lips.

"Sit on my face." Punk said, pulling at her hips as she smirked. He then watched as she turned around in reverse, straddling over his face, her stomach pressed against his as she pushed his boxers down, in a fitting sixty nine position, "That works too." Punk said, wrapping his arms around her thighs and feasting between her folds whilst she moaned with his length in her mouth.

"Fuck, baby… that's so good." AJ moaned, resting her cheek on his thigh as she stroked him up and down with her hand. She then went back to using her mouth, bobbing her head up and down on him, releasing him and rolling her tongue all the way down to his balls as Punk moaned.

"Fuck." Punk moaned, feeling her mouth on his balls whilst she stroked his length with her hand, "Fucking hell." He groaned whilst AJ smiled, bringing her mouth back up to his length.

Spending a while in that position, they eventually moved. Punk picked her up and lay her down on the bed where he was on top. Although she enjoyed being on top, she secretly preferred being below.

"I'm so wet right now." AJ shook her head.

"Hold your legs back." Punk told her as she smiled with eager eyes, biting her lip and wrapping her arms under her legs, holding them apart as she watched him slide himself into her.

"Oh, God." AJ moaned out, "Fuck, that's deep." She gasped, looking down at his length disappearing inside of her, going back and forth as she rolled her head back. Punk watched her with a smile, thrusting back and forth between her walls. It was one of the most satisfying things, watching her in deep bouts of pleasure.

He dragged his thumb down her lip, tilting her chin up as she moaned, looking directly at him as he smirked. He took her legs she was holding back and put them over his shoulders, leaning forward and kissing her passionately as AJ moaned into his mouth.

"Oh my God." AJ moaned loudly as Punk kissed her neck and continued thrusting into her.

* * *

"Well that's me on the bad list again." AJ scoffed, sitting her phone down as she walked into the kitchen where Punk was standing making Thea her lunch. The three year old was sat at the table drawing… or scribbling to be precise, some lovely pictures for their fridge.

"Why?" Punk asked.

"I missed my lecture today." AJ said, "I had to call one of the girls from my class to get the notes and I know she hates me when I do this. This is your fault." She pointed at him as Punk chuckled a little.

"There were times where, their childish and their lack of responsibility did show. They were only human. And they were still young. Sometimes they did make mistakes. Irresponsible ones, but they were still learning, and it was very difficult having to be mentally older than their years.

"One day won't hurt." Punk scoffed, "You're always at college, and you're always studying. It's not like you're a bad student." He shrugged.

Their unexpected morning session went on longer than intended, to the point where if she had left to go to college, by the time she got there, the lecture would have been finished anyway.

"I shouldn't be missing any lectures." AJ shook her head, sitting down at the kitchen table with Thea, brushing her hand over the infant's hair sweetly.

"Here you go, babe." Punk sat Thea's sandwich and juice box down.

"Thanks, daddy." Thea smiled.

"You're welcome." Punk hummed, "April, it's just one day. You work non-stop, you're at college four days a week. You gotta give yourself a rest from time to time." He nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Because resting was what I was doing this morning." AJ looked at him deviously as he shrugged.

"Just as good as resting if you ask me." Punk said as she smiled.

"Hey you didn't even tell me how it went with Dean last night." AJ said, "What'd you say to him?"

"I just said what I thought. I was concerned he was jumping into something he hadn't even thought about but… I think he's thought about it." Punk nodded, "They want this so… who the hell am I to say shit about it?" He asked.

"As long as they're happy. That's all that really matters, right?" AJ nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it." Punk nodded, "And if there's any girl who can put up with Dean, it's Renee. They love each other and… that's enough." He waved his hand.

"Are you just secretly worried that Dean got married before you did?" AJ smirked, amused.

"No, I'm just shocked." Punk laughed a little, "Maybe Thea will get a little cousin soon, who knows?" Punk scoffed.

"Gosh, don't put that idea in his head." AJ smiled, "That would be really sweet, though." She nodded, "Is this the mail we got in?" She asked him, reaching over for the few letters on the kitchen table.

"Yeah, I brought it in earlier." Punk nodded, making himself a bigger sandwich for lunch, "How's the sandwich?" He asked Thea.

"I don't think I like it." Thea admitted, picking at her sandwich unhappily as AJ looked over.

"Daddy made your favourite, though." AJ noticed.

"I don't like it anymore." Thea shrugged as Punk raised a brow. It was little things about parenting that really tested them. Like the fact their daughter picked and chose when she liked certain foods.

"You want some of my sandwich?" Punk asked as Thea turned around and looked over.

"Yes, let me try it, please." Thea nodded as Punk sat down the sandwich, watching her pick it up and take a bite.

He'd spent a while preparing his sandwich, layering it up and getting ready to dig into it…

"I like this." Thea smiled happily, "Thanks, daddy." She nodded as Punk scoffed whilst AJ chuckled.

"Yeah, no problem." Punk rolled his eyes, "I'll have… this cheese and ham sandwich." He groaned as AJ chuckled at him.

"Oh, what's this?" AJ questioned, noticing a smaller envelope amongst their mail as Punk looked over.

"Looks like an invitation." Punk nodded.

"If it's from Dean, that's funny." AJ nodded, opening up the invitation, "For a wedding…" She said, puzzled.

"Who do we know that's getting married?" Punk chuckled.

"From Rio and Marina." AJ looked up at him as he paused and turned to her.

"Rio?" Punk questioned as AJ nodded.

It was a name they hadn't heard of in three years. It appeared their old friend had thankfully left them alone, and moved on with his life elsewhere. Punk knew he would never have hurt them, even when AJ had tried to get him sent down to prison. He wasn't a violent or despicable man. But this still came as a shock to be contacted by him like this, in such a mundane way.

"So he's getting married." AJ nodded, "Marina." She said, looking at the bottom of the invitation.

"Let me see." Punk said, walking over and looking at the invitation.

"Why would he invite us?" AJ questioned.

"I have no idea." Punk said, "You think Dean got one?" He wondered.

"Well probably." AJ nodded, "Maybe I'd understand if… if we never left things on bad terms but… the last time I spoke to him he was… he was adamant he would never see me again, and he'd never forgive what I did." AJ shrugged, "I guess he really… had no issues with you." AJ nodded.

"Strange that he invited us, though." Punk said as AJ nodded, "What do we do?" He asked her.

"Well we obviously don't go." AJ said, "Come on, we're… we're not about that life anymore."

"No, but it's a wedding." Punk said, "And maybe if we saw him to clear the air, it'd feel a little better."

"No, I don't… I don't want you to see him." AJ shook her head.

"April… I'm not going back there." Punk said, "Come on. I'm not that dumb kid anymore." He said.

"But he hates me. I… I could have put him in prison." AJ said.

"Don't you think he understood? He's big on family. He gets it. You were trying to protect me." Punk said as AJ looked at him.

"Why are you so eager to go?" AJ questioned suspiciously.

"I'm not. I just… I don't think there's any harm in it. And we could clear the air with him." Punk nodded, "The guy isn't bad-"

"Define your version of bad, Phil." AJ rolled her eyes, "No… no, we're not going. We don't need to go." She said, "Plus, no one is here to look after Thea." She said, "You shouldn't want to go see him."

"He was still my friend." Punk said.

"A friend?" AJ questioned, "Look what he did to you. He was the one who messed you up." She said, "Who knows what could happen if you go back into that environment."

"So you're saying I'm weak? That I have no self-control?" He questioned.

"I'm saying, we're not going." AJ said, "And that's it."

"Oh and I don't get a say in it?" Punk questioned.

"Not when you're being ridiculous. We're not those kids who need his help anymore."

"Yeah, but we were those kids that he helped. I think this is just a genuine invitation." Punk nodded, "He's left us alone for three years. He's not the type to chase after us and make our lives miserable." He said, "I bet we'd run into some old friends-"

"Yeah, friends I don't want to see again." AJ said, "That period of my life was the worst, in case you don't know." AJ said, "I lost you, I lost myself, I lost everyone… I had a baby on my own… all those people will remind me of that time." She said, "Don't put me back there." She said as Punk looked across at her.

"Why are you shouting?" Thea asked them both curiously as they both turned to her.

"Oh… oh, we're just being silly." AJ shook her head, cupping Thea's cheek as she looked at her.

"You look mad." Thea noticed, sipping on her juice box as Punk ran his hand through his hair. They realised they had to be more aware of her picking up on a whole lot more. She was getting older.

"I'm not mad, baby." AJ smiled, "Of course I'm not."

"Well not now." Thea rolled her eyes, wondering if her mother thought she was stupid.

"I gotta get to work." Punk said, "I'll be home late."

"Ok." AJ nodded.

"You'll be in bed when I get home, baby." Punk said, "So I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" He said, leaning down and giving her a tight squeeze and Thea hugged him tightly.

"Bye, daddy." Thea smiled as he kissed her cheek.

He then straightened up, walking over to AJ and kissing her cheek as she stood, unreceptive.

"I'll see you later." Punk said as AJ didn't respond, watching him leave the kitchen and head to work.


	48. Ashamed

**Ashamed**

* * *

"You got one?" Punk asked Dean at work.

"Yeah, I got one." Dean nodded.

"Me and Ape got into a fight about it." Punk nodded, "I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go. She… thought overwise."

"You really wanna see him again?" Dean asked, "After what he did to you."

"He never forced me. I blame myself for how I got in the end. I made the choices." Punk said, "I just think it would clear the air if we saw him. He obviously doesn't give a shit about what happened, because he hasn't come anywhere near us in three years."

"And maybe it's best to leave it like that." Dean said, "I mean… doesn't he hate AJ?"

"No, well… why would he send an invitation to us?" Punk said.

"If it's gonna make AJ uncomfortable, do you really want to go?" Dean questioned.

"Of course not. I don't want her to be uncomfortable." He said, "But these people were our friends at one point, and they never did us wrong."

"I know that, and AJ knows that… but it's very clear she wants to move on." Dean nodded, "What good would it do to see him again?"

"Just to clear the air and make sure we're on his good side. Peace of mind." Punk shrugged.

"Look… I'll go if you both decide to, but I don't think it's such a good idea." Dean said, "It's like a drug addict going to party with all his friends who are still doing drugs. It'll be tough for you."

"Can you not compare me to a drug addict." Punk said.

"Well you were an addict… you couldn't stop yourself." Dean said, "So why put yourself through that again?"

"It's a wedding. And I'm never going back there, April knows that." Punk said.

"It's between you and her. Just… remember how hard it was on her to see you slowly yourself to that man. It's gonna remind her of it all-"

"That's what she said." Punk nodded.

"You gotta talk to her about it." Dean said as Punk nodded.

* * *

Later that night, Punk got home from work. Normally a few days a week he done a late night shift, which meant he missed saying goodnight to Thea, which really killed him.

He got into the house and wandered into the living room where AJ was sitting on the couch with her blanket watching some TV. He could see her college books were beside, as if she had been studying earlier.

"Hey." Punk nodded to her.

"Hi." AJ said, reaching for the television remote and turning the volume down on the baking programme she had been watching, "How was work?"

"It was ok." Punk nodded, "How's my girl?"

"In bed." AJ nodded, "Had a lot of fun with those new bath toys Dean got her in Vegas. Wore her out I think." She smiled a little as he smiled too.

"We gotta talk." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"First can I just…" She paused, "We can't fight in front of Thea." She said. It was the thing that had been bothering her the most all day. Having just carried on their fight in front of their daughter wasn't responsible, and she hated herself for it, especially when Thea had very much picked up on the anger they were showing towards each other.

"Yeah, I was gonna say-"

"We can't raise our voices at each other in front of her. If we have to have a… a discussion that might get us a little angry, we have to go into another room. I grew up around screaming and shouting, and I still remember all of it." AJ said, "I don't want her to remember that about us when she's grown up."

"Hey, we rarely ever even fight." Punk pointed out as AJ nodded, knowing that to be true.

"I know that, but we just have to be careful." She said.

"I agree." Punk nodded. He absolutely agreed with her. It wasn't responsible of them to have a heated discussion in front of their three year old daughter.

"And about the invitation." AJ nodded, "If you would like to go to the wedding to say hi to some old friends, congratulate Rio, show face for a little bit and then leave… then that's ok." AJ assured him, "I won't be coming with you." She made clear as he looked across at her.

"Well I wouldn't go without you." Punk said as AJ looked at him, "Look, I know it might sound like a terrible idea, me going into that environment again and seeing all those people that were around when I was… working for Rio." He said, "But the man was still my friend, and he was your friend too. He cared a lot about you."

"I know that, Phil." AJ said, "I know that we were friends with Rio and he was good to us, but he also put you in a lot of danger-"

"I put myself in danger. I kept going back to him. He didn't make me work for him, he didn't make me stay." Punk said.

"Why are you so eager to go?" AJ questioned. Of course it worried her.

"Because… I feel like things were left hanging. It'd be good to just clear the air and move on properly." Punk said.

"We have moved on." AJ said, "I think we moved on a lot." She nodded, "I don't need his approval to carry on with my life." She said.

"It's not an approval." Punk said, "We can do like you said, go for a couple hours, show face, say hello, talk to Rio and then split." He nodded, "I know you said to me the last conversation you had with him still plays on your mind."

"Yeah, but I don't want to do anything about it. It doesn't bother me that much. I'm grateful he's let us be and we've moved on. Why bring it all back up again?" She questioned, "You could go there and get triggered, and then before I know it, you'll be telling me your doing a job for him… and then we're right back where we started." AJ said.

"I would never do that to you." Punk said, "Do you really think I would?" He shook his head, "I told you, I am never going back there. You and Thea are my life. We've built something here, on our own." He nodded, "We've talked about this before, I know you're anxious about him-"

"Yeah because I tried to put him in prison." AJ said.

"Wouldn't you feel better talking to him? Clearing the air? I know I would." Punk said as AJ leaned her head back on the chair and sighed.

They had talked before about the anxiety she had in regards to Rio. Things weren't left very well said between them, and she couldn't help wonder if speaking to him after all this time, may have actually helped.

"I don't know." AJ said.

"This isn't us going back to that place we were in." Punk said. He felt like it would give him peace of mind speaking to Rio and clearing the air once and for all. He of course, had no bad intentions what so ever, he never would regarding his own family, "I just want to clear the air with him."

"What about Thea?" AJ questioned, "We are not taking her."

"Dean said that Renee isn't gonna go so… we could ask her to babysit Thea for the night. We can pick her up on the way home." Punk suggested as AJ sighed.

She was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to stay far away from all of those people, but on the other hand, clearing the air after everything that was left hanging also sounded like a relief.

"I don't know, Phil." AJ shook her head as he looked at her.

"No matter what, I'm not gonna put you in an uncomfortable position. If you don't wanna go, then we won't go." He nodded.

"It's always going to be there, isn't it?" AJ sighed as Punk sat down beside her.

"What is?" He asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"That part of our life." AJ whispered, "We can… move on, buy a house, work legit jobs, have babies… it's never gonna change what we did, how we lived." She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes as he watched him blink them down her cheeks.

"Hey, don't do that." Punk sighed, drying her tears right away, only to feel more running down her cheeks. It was the most painful thing in the world, watching either of his girls crying.

"I just feel so ashamed sometimes." AJ shook her head, drying her tears with her sleeves, "It never goes away."

"Hey, we didn't have a choice back then." Punk shook his head, "You never did anything wrong."

"I did." AJ said, "I stole from people. I lied. I watched you completely lose it… and I didn't try and stop you-"

"Don't you blame yourself for my mistakes. No way." Punk warned her, "That was all on me. All of it." He said.

"I took things that belonged to people." AJ shook her head, drying her tears that kept coming, "And I didn't even care."

"We were homeless." Punk reminded her, "We didn't have a lot of options. I couldn't go back home. Your place was crowded and dangerous. We didn't have a choice." He said, "We never hurt anyone."

"That's not the point." AJ shook her head, "When I think about going to this wedding, I'm walking in there and people know me as that girl who used to steal, who was friends with Rio, who went to jail…" She rolled her eyes, "I left her way in the past." She said.

"We don't have to go." Punk shook his head as she looked at him, "We don't. I thought we might feel better, clearing the air, but… maybe you're right, maybe it's just going back to where we were."

"I'm actually proud of who I am today." AJ realised, "We got this place on our own. With our own money we worked hard for." She said, "I go to college which… I didn't even finish high school." She said, "I'm a mom… and I work too." She said, "I like who I am now, and going to that wedding… it's just gonna remind me of who I was back then." She shook her head.

"I never knew you felt this strongly about that." Punk admitted. Of course he knew to an extent, but to hear her words really put it into perspective, how much she was grateful for them moving on, moving up.

"I don't talk about it because it's in the past. I'm focused on the now, and us." She nodded, "I understand why you think going might help settle things, round things up a little better after we all went our separate ways but… I walk in there and I'm just… I'm that April again." She shook her head as he looked at her.

"Then we don't go." Punk nodded. He never wanted to put her in an uncomfortable position, he was just trying to tell her what he was thinking, but he could see this was affecting her more than he ever thought.

"You can go on your own. I trust you." AJ nodded, drying her tears.

"No way. We do thing together." He nodded, "That hasn't changed." He smiled as she looked across at him, "You should never be ashamed of yourself."

"I'm not now." She nodded.

"I mean ever." Punk said, "You were strong as hell back then. To get through the shit we got through, and somehow… end up ok in the end." He said, "Don't be ashamed of that." He said, cupping her cheek as she leaned into his hand.

"It was just a really tough time." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. He completely understood, at times he felt the same, he was ashamed of all the bad things he'd done, the mistakes he had made, but they had learned from those mistakes and they had very much moved on. He didn't want her to constantly feel ashamed of who she was, "Please don't be ashamed of yourself, you were still you." He nodded, "We haven't changed, we just... got smarter." He said as AJ nodded, "And we're still learning."

"Yeah." AJ nodded.

"I would never have put you in an uncomfortable position." He said.

"I know that." AJ nodded. She knew why he wanted to go to the wedding, and she understood his reason, but she really didn't want to open that part of her life up again, when it took them so long to move past it in the first place.

"I'll RSVP that we're not going." Punk said as she nodded, "Come here." He sighed, pulling her into him as she shuffled over, curling into him, resting her head on his chest. It was hard not to be scarred from what they had to go through as young adults. Having a new home didn't change any of that. It was still there in their minds.


	49. Before

**Before**

* * *

"I didn't know she thought so badly of herself back then." Punk shook his head, sitting at work the next day on their break with Dean.

"Well it was a shitty time." Dean nodded, "I don't blame her for wanting to avoid it all." He said as Punk nodded.

"Hey, it's not as if I enjoyed it." Punk made clear, "My intentions weren't bad about going to the wedding."

"I know they weren't." Dean nodded.

"I just… I thought clearing the air would help. But… I mean, maybe AJ is right, maybe it would be too much. Bring back everything that happened." He said, "I just hate that she's like… ashamed of herself." He shook his head, "We did what we had to. We needed money or we'd be on the streets."

"I know." Dean said, "But, she's got a good heart so… doing all those horrible things, stealing, lying, going to jail… probably wasn't easy for her, although it kinda came across that way." He scoffed.

"It's just so nice to see her doing her thing now." Punk said, "Really goes to show what support does for people. She went and sat all her high school exams, went to college whilst working whilst taking care of a baby." He said, "She's amazing." He shook his head as Dean smiled.

"Yeah, she's driven alright." Dean nodded, "I'm sort of glad you're not going to the wedding. I know you just wanted to go clear the air and dust that chapter of your life off with your hands, make it easier to move on, but… you really don't need to. Rio's left us alone, and he'll continue to leave us alone… he's not a bad guy." He shook his head as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Punk said, "I just thought it would maybe give AJ peace of mind, considering how she left things with Rio." He said.

"It's probably best just to leave well enough." Dean said as Punk nodded, "Was she upset?"

"Yeah, she got upset." Punk said as Dean nodded, "She'll be ok." He assured him, "Anyway, how is married life?" He asked, "Still bizarre that I'm actually asking that." He shook his head as Dean chuckled.

"It's going good." Dean nodded, "It's actually a nice feeling." He admitted, "We're looking at going away somewhere for a honeymoon." He said.

"Vegas?" Punk suggested teasingly as Dean laughed.

"Maybe not." Dean said as Punk smiled, "Did you RSVP the invitation back?"

"Yeah. I sent it back this morning." Punk nodded.

"You think he'll be mad?" Dean wondered.

"Doubt it." Punk said, April's right, the whole place would have been filled from people we knew back then." He shook his head, "It would have been tough." He nodded. The more he thought about it, the more he realised it would have been difficult to open that part of their lives back up again.

"Maybe him inviting us was enough to clear the air. He's obviously not mad. It is what it is." Dean said, "People move on."

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"You here until late again?" Dean asked him.

"Yeah, this shift kills me. I never get to see Thea before bed." He sighed.

"Can't she wait up?" Dean questioned.

"She's three." Punk said, "She's in her bed at like seven. I'm home at like nine." He shook his head.

"At least it's only once or twice a week we have to do it." Dean said, "You're home early every other day."

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, "Ok, our break finished ten minutes ago." Punk noticed, standing up as Dean yawned and stood up too.

* * *

Punk got home later on that night to a quiet house. No one was downstairs, so he figured AJ had taken an early night. He headed straight upstairs, walking on through to his bedroom where he couldn't spot AJ, however, he saw their bathroom door was closed.

He walked over, knocking on it before walking in, so not to startle her completely. He smiled as he saw her lying in the bath.

"This looks… comfortable." Punk nodded as AJ opened her eyes.

"I had a stressful night." She told him as he sat down on the closed toilet seat.

"No kidding." He said, noticing some candles she had lit, "What happened?" He asked curiously.

"Your daughter was acting up." AJ said. Whenever Thea played up, she always referred to her as his daughter.

"What was she doing?" Punk asked, amused.

"Well she didn't eat dinner. I had to make her a sandwich instead." AJ said, "Then she wouldn't go for her bath. She kept crying." AJ nodded, "I finally got her in the bath and then she didn't want to come out." She said, "And then bedtime was a whole other ball game." She groaned as Punk smiled.

"Keeps us on our toes, I guess." Punk nodded. Thea could be a handful at times, but she was just a little kid, she played up and tested their patience.

"She got all those cheeky traits from you." AJ pointed, "Your fault." She nodded, "She literally hid from me at bedtime. I couldn't find her." She said as Punk chuckled a little, "It's not funny."

"Ok, but it is a little." Punk nodded, "She gets her sass from you, not me." Punk assured her.

"Imagine what she's gonna be like when she's a teenager." AJ said with worry.

"She'll be fine. Stop worrying." He shook his head, "She's a three year old. She's gonna play up."

At times, it was very difficult being a parent, especially at their age. Balancing between being responsible but also still having fun was difficult for them.

"It's just been one of those days." AJ admitted as Punk nodded.

"Just you relax." Punk nodded as AJ looked over at him.

"Are you coming in?" She asked as he looked at her.

"In the bath?" Punk pointed as AJ nodded.

"Come in." AJ smiled.

He didn't need to be convinced of course, he stripped down his clothes and got into the bath behind her. She then rested herself back against him, her back against his chest, sitting between his legs.

"How was work?" She asked him.

"It was ok." Punk said, "I sent the invitation back with the RSVP." He said.

"I really wasn't stopping you from going, you know." She said, "If you wanted to go-"

"No, no I think you're right. It'd be hard." Punk nodded, "I mean I don't wanna open up that part of my life again." He said, "It was the worst." He said as she nodded.

"I do get what you meant about clearing the air. I do feel like we left things in a bad place with him. Especially me." AJ nodded, "But, I think it's just one of those things where we… we go our separate ways." She said.

"Yeah, I think so too." Punk nodded, "I just… I don't want you to look back on that time, and feel ashamed of yourself." He said. It really hurt him that she thought so little of herself, "We had nothing. We did what we had to… yeah, it wasn't good but we were trying to survive." He said as she nodded.

"I just remember being so obsessed with you." She admitted.

"Obsessed?" Punk laughed a little.

"Yeah. I was just… I was so in love with you, nothing else even mattered. We could have been living on the streets and I don't think I would have cared." She shook her head, "Do you think it was a bad relationship?"

"Ours?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Back then."

"No… well, I don't think so. I loved you. I guess we weren't such a good influence on each other but… I don't think that meant it was a bad relationship." Punk said.

"Do you remember our first time?" She smiled to herself.

"Of course I do." Punk nodded.

"You were so good to me." She remembered.

"You weren't so bad either." He teased as she smiled, "I wanted your first time to be special." He said.

"It was." She smiled, thinking back, "It wasn't just the sex it was… the first time anyone actually cared about me." She said, "My parents never did. My brother pretended he was protective but he couldn't give a shit what happened to me… and I barely had friends." She said, "Then I met you and everything just changed."

"Do you think I was the one that… brought you down with me? Bad influence and all-"

"No." AJ shook her head, "No, I was gonna be out on my own anyway. You just happened to be going through the same stuff." She nodded.

"I guess I was." Punk nodded.

"You spoke to your mom lately?" She asked.

"No, not since a couple months ago." Punk said. His mother was still a loose cannon, in and out of his life, only appearing when she needed something of course, "I seriously don't know how she's still alive at this point."

"Was she always like this?" AJ asked.

"Well it's all I can remember her being like." Punk nodded, "She was with my dad for a couple years and that's when she had me and Dean. After he walked out on us, I guess she just lost it." Punk nodded, "And never recovered."

"Must have been hard to watch." She said, taking his hand in hers.

"Yeah, well it wasn't easy." Punk shook his head as AJ nodded, "She just… I couldn't look at her as my mom anymore, she was just… a woman who we had to live with." He shrugged, "She'd have guys around almost every night, she'd sleep with them for money." He nodded, "It was rough." He shook his head.

"I'm sorry." AJ said, turning her head and kissing his chest.

"No, it's fine… I don't get angry or upset about it. It is what it is." Punk nodded, "She was never really my mom." He shrugged.

"I'm so glad we can give Thea a good home." AJ shook her head, "I just… I couldn't imagine not making sure I done my absolute best for her." She said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, "I'd say we're doing not too bad." He smiled as she looked up at him and smiled, tilting her head back and pressing her lips up against his.

She then turned around slowly, straddling over him and kissing him more passionately after giving herself more access to his lips.

"I start moving and we're gonna flood this place." AJ chuckled against his lips as he smirked.

"Guess we just gotta get out then." Punk smiled as AJ nodded.

She climbed out of the bath as Punk followed, about to walk out of the bathroom when she grabbed him back.

"No. Here." She told him, tugging his hand and pulling him back as she dropped to her knees in front of him, stroking him with her hand before using her mouth, bobbing her head back and forth as Punk ran his hands in her semi-wet hair.

She continued to bob her head up and down, taking his length fully into her mouth and back out, keeping his eyes up on him the entire time as he moaned quietly to himself whilst watching her.

"Fuck, baby." Punk moaned.

She continued using her mouth on him for a little while longer before he pulled her up and turned her around, bending her over as she took hold of the edge of the bath tub, feeling him entering her slowly as she moaned out.

* * *

Sometime later, AJ left the bathroom whilst Punk was clearing up after the fun they'd had, making sure towels were in the laundry and everything they had knocked over was back in place.

AJ had put her shorts and t-shirt on, pulling the bed covers back, looking forward to jumping into the covers and drifting off to sleep, when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

She walked over to the door and opened it up where Thea was standing, holding her bear by the arm and looking up at AJ.

"Hi." AJ smiled. It was taking the three year old a while to get used to not sleeping in the same room as her parents. Back in their old apartment, her bed was in their room, which meant she didn't have to travel very far to find them if she woke up with a bad dream.

"Hi." Thea hugged Harold whilst walking into the room, "Mommy I had a bad dream." She said.

"Oh, baby… you did?" AJ frowned, walking over and crouching down in front of Thea who nodded, "What was the dream about?" AJ asked, tucking Thea's messy bed hair behind her ear.

"Monsters." Thea said as Punk walked out of the bathroom with his shorts and t-shirt on.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" Punk asked upon noticing Thea.

"Bad dream." AJ told him.

"About bad monsters." Thea added.

"Bad monsters?" Punk asked, walking over and picking her up into his arms as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yes in my room." Thea nodded, "And I can't sleep now." She muffled against his shoulder.

"You want daddy to read you a story?" Punk asked.

"No." Thea said simply as Punk nodded to himself, "I have to sleep here." She nodded, "So I'm safe."

"This is mommy and daddy's bed, though." Punk said.

"But I'm scared." Thea frowned, looking at him with those huge brown eyes. Those eyes scared him. He'd do anything for her when she looked at him like that.

"Alright, ok." Punk nodded as Thea smiled, wriggling down from Punk and running over to the bed, climbing on with her bear and getting in the middle, fixing the pillows as AJ and Punk watched her with a smile.

"Ready to get kicked in the face?" AJ smiled.

"I sleep with you every night. I'll be fine." Punk scoffed, getting into bed and pulling the covers over him. The truth was, they were both very tried, he was sure he'd pass out right away.

"Goodnight." Punk kissed Thea on the nose, "Goodnight." He leaned over, kissing his girlfriend as she smiled.

"Daddy." Thea gasped, holding Harold up, "What about Harold?"

"Yes, goodnight." Punk kissed the bear as Thea smiled happily.

Thea snuggled into AJ who wasn't mad about the cuddles she was getting from her daughter.

Punk tried falling asleep, but for some reason he couldn't, even when he was so tired. He turned his head to the side and looked on as he watched his daughter and girlfriend sleeping. Thea was holding Harold under her chin whilst AJ had her arms around Thea, both of them so peaceful and angelic. He was always the luckiest guy on earth.


	50. Meet Again

**Meet Again**

* * *

"I don't see how she can have a dance recital when she's so small." Dean scoffed, standing outside Thea's playgroup with Renee and Punk, "Like… what is she gonna do? Twirl?"

"Yeah, and it'll be amazing." Punk warned, "Like you were doing anything exciting on a Wednesday night anyway." He shook his head.

"Where is AJ?" Renee asked.

"She's gone to take Thea to get ready with all the other little children." Punk nodded, "Things like this will really help her when she goes to school in a couple years." He noted.

"That kid couldn't get any more confident if she tried." Dean scoffed as Punk smiled.

AJ eventually came back outside, "Ok, she's with the girl who runs the playgroup. We can go in and take a seat." She nodded, "And for all your information, she's the cutest kid out of all the other kids."

"April." Punk laughed a little.

"What? She is." AJ shrugged, unapologetically, "She's like a little fairy angel. Sometimes I don't know how she came from us." She admitted as Punk nodded.

"Can I get a beer in here?" Dean wondered, walking on into the building as Punk slapped him on the back of his head.

"You can get one after." Renee assured him as they wondered in and took a seat.

It was a pretty big stage area, and there were a ton of people there already. It was a pretty big playgroup in the area, but it gave Thea a chance to interact with other kids.

"Did you bring the camera?" AJ asked Punk, sitting down on her seat as he sat beside her.

"Yeah, here." Punk passed the camera over, "You know I can't take good pictures." He said as AJ nodded, knowing that to be true.

"So what is she actually doing?" Dean questioned.

"It's a dance recital." AJ said, "So she's dancing."

"So like… hip hop or-"

"Ballet." AJ raised a brow.

"Oh." Dean nodded, "I thought we were gonna see her break it down." He shrugged as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Do you realise that in like fifteen years we'll be sitting watching her graduate?" AJ turned to Punk.

"Please stop." Punk nodded.

"Ok." She agreed, placing her hand on his leg, "I'm kinda nervous for her." She admitted, not being able to sit still as Punk nodded, noticing she was agitated.

"She'll be fine." Punk nodded.

The recital eventually began. Punk smiled as he saw Thea walk out. She was in a little ballet costume and she really did look like an angel.

"See, I told you she was the cutest kid." AJ tapped his leg as Punk smiled and nodded, he couldn't disagree, "Oh, I love her." She shook her head as Punk smiled.

No matter what age they were, they were proud parents regardless. Punk felt so proud whenever he saw his daughter do anything cool or exciting. It was crazy how proud he got.

"I think we might have a problem." Dean said, looking on at Thea who was standing still whilst the recital began.

"Why isn't she dancing?" AJ questioned worriedly.

"Maybe she's just forgot a little bit." Punk shrugged, watching as Thea stood still whilst the other little girls danced. She looked like she just couldn't be bothered to dance, and she even took a seat on the stage after a little while.

"Oh dear God." AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that kid definitely came from you two." Dean chuckled to himself.

"Should we get her attention?" AJ asked.

"No, she's fine." Punk shrugged.

"She's the only one not dancing." AJ frowned.

"Maybe she doesn't want to." Punk said, watching Thea sat on the stage whilst the other girls danced around her, "She always likes to stand out, I guess." He cringed as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, she definitely does." AJ said.

* * *

The recital eventually came to an end. Thea had pretty much rested on the stage the entire time it went on. She did however, get up to take a bow at the end which had Punk and AJ chuckling a lot.

AJ went and collected her whilst Punk stood with Dean and Renee in the stage room.

"Well that was life changing." Dean stretched.

"Oh, I thought it was cute." Renee shoved him as AJ brought Thea over, who was still in her ballet costume.

"Hey, there's the star." Punk cheered, picking Thea up and giving her a tight squeeze as Thea giggled.

"I was up there!" Thea pointed over to the stage.

"Yeah you were." Punk smiled, "And you rocked it."

"I did." Thea smiled as Dean scoffed.

"You were amazing, princess." AJ smiled, leaning in and kissing Thea's cheek as she and Punk gave her a joint hug.

"Why'd you not dance?" Dean asked her bluntly as Punk and AJ looked at him, "With all the other little people?"

"I didn't want to, Dee." Thea shrugged.

"Oh, ok. Seems fair enough." Dean nodded to Renee who smiled.

"But you were still the best." Punk made clear, kissing her cheek as Thea grinned.

"Where is Harold?" Thea asked as Punk put her down.

"Here, in your backpack, baby." AJ said, getting the teddy bear out for her.

She was a very laid back little girl, and it proved tonight that she really didn't care what people thought of her, even at such a young age.

"I think this calls for some ice-cream, huh?" Punk said as Thea nodded and grinned.

"Does everyone like my costume?" Thea asked them, twirling around.

"Too pink." Dean shrugged. He liked to tease her.

"Hey." Thea looked at him, hitting him on his knee cap as Dean chuckled.

"You look amazing." Renee nodded, "I love your hair. Is that glitter through it?" She looked closer.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Yeah, her bath is gonna be fun tonight." She said as Renee smiled.

"I think you look like an angel." Punk nodded as Thea smiled to herself.

"Sorry to interrupt." An older woman interrupted, "I thought it was great, what she did tonight." She said, "Kids just live in a world of their own, right?" She smiled.

"They really do." AJ nodded, appreciating the woman being so kind, "She was practising all week too." AJ laughed a little.

"Bless her." The woman smiled, "You two look so alike. Is she your little sister?" She asked, being sincerely genuine as Punk heard and looked over.

"Oh… no, no she's my daughter." AJ laughed a little.

"Oh, how sweet." The woman smiled, "Maybe we'll see what moves she has at the next one." She nodded.

"Yeah, maybe." AJ said, watching the woman walked away as AJ rolled her eyes and turned back to Punk, Dean and Renee, "There goes another… is that your little sister comment." AJ scoffed.

"It's not so bad that people think you look young." Dean shrugged.

"I don't look young, Dean. I am young." AJ rolled her eyes, "I need a mom friend." She sighed, turning to Renee, "Get pregnant." She encouraged as Renee chuckled.

"Be quiet." Dean warned, "Can we get out of here now?" He asked.

"We need to wait, Thea gets a little certificate." AJ shrugged, "You guys go." She nodded.

"Ok." Dean said, "Hey, Thea. Good gig." He said, putting his hand up as Thea gave him a high five excitedly whilst Renee gave her a sweet hug before they both left.

"Why do comments like that bother you? She was a nice woman." Punk shrugged.

"I know she was nice but… why do people just assume?" AJ questioned, "It's embarrassing for me. No one ever asks you if you're her brother."

"Actually one person did before." Punk corrected her, "But I didn't get offended about it. It was funny." He shrugged.

"I know but… I don't have any mom friends." She shrugged, "Look around, everyone here is at least thirty, some are forty." She looked as Punk nodded, "Think about when she goes to school, and I have to meet her little friends parents, and they're twice our age." AJ sighed.

"It's not a big deal, Ape." Punk said, "So we had her young. In a couple years it won't feel so weird. We'll be older." He said.

"I just feel kinda out of place." AJ shrugged.

"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, having Thea holding his hand and twirling herself around under it, "Hey, why didn't you show us those moves up there?" He asked her as AJ smiled.

"I didn't want to." Thea shrugged.

"Were you saving them just for us?" AJ asked.

"Yes." Thea nodded as Punk smiled.

"I see." Punk said, "Well, let's get this certificate so we can go get some ice-cream." He said as Thea nodded excitedly.

* * *

They eventually left and went for some ice-cream at one of Thea's favourite places. They sat in where Thea and Punk shared an ice-cream sundae whilst AJ got some waffles. It was little moments just like this where she was so thankful for her little family. So grateful she had them.

They left the ice-cream place and drove home. It was only around a fifteen minute drive, but it was enough time for Thea to fall asleep in her car seat in the back.

"She's fell asleep." Punk noticed whilst driving, looking in the rear view mirror.

"I'd say all the dancing took it out of her but…" AJ laughed a little as Punk smiled. AJ turned around and looked on as Thea slept peacefully with Harold in her arms, "God, I love her." She shook her head as Punk smiled, "So much." She said as Punk nodded. It was so hard to describe the love they had for their daughter. Unconditional for sure.

"I think you're gonna need to skip her bath tonight." Punk nodded.

"Yeah, for sure. She's exhausted." AJ nodded, "She'll just need to have a glittery pillow." She shrugged, "I'm off college tomorrow so she can have a bath in the morning."

"Good idea." Punk nodded, "And hey, don't worry about the whole… mom friends thing." He said as AJ sighed, sitting beside him in the passenger's seat whilst he drove in the dark night, "Age doesn't matter. We're still parents." He said as AJ nodded, "Maybe some assholes have an opinion about the age thing but… most don't bother." He said.

"I know, I'm being stupid." AJ nodded.

"No, it's not stupid. People typically kids a little older, I get it." Punk nodded, "But, it doesn't make older people any better at it." He said as AJ nodded.

"I know." AJ said, "You know I just worry about the little things."

"I know." Punk smiled, "And that's ok. As long as you always talk to me about it." He said as she smiled, placing her hand on his thigh.

"God, I love you too." She mimicked as she'd just done with Thea as Punk smiled.

"I love you." He smiled, pulling up outside their house as she eventually leaned over and gave him a long, passionate kiss which would have gone further hadn't they had to put Thea to bed, "Why don't you… go on inside. I'll get Thea." He said as AJ smiled and nodded.

He watched her as she got out the car and headed on to the house to go inside. He then got out and opened up the back door, leaning in and scooping up Thea into his arms gently so not to disturb her sleep.

He leaned out of the car, closing the door over with his foot…

"Brooks."

Punk froze, knowing that familiar voice anywhere, slowly turning around as he saw Rio standing a few feet away.

"Rio." Punk shook his head, holding Thea in his arms as her little head rested on his shoulder.

"Got your RSVP." Rio said, putting his hands in his pockets.


	51. Desperate Times

**Desperate Times**

* * *

Punk stood for a few seconds, looking across at Rio as they stood a few footsteps away. For some reason, he held Thea a little tighter, and without him noticing, she dropped Harold from her hand onto the ground as Rio watched.

"Careful." Rio walked over, picking the bear up, "Don't wanna lose this." He said, looking at the bear as Punk watched him.

"What are you doing here?" Punk asked.

"Well… I got your RSVP, saw that you couldn't make it to my wedding and so… I thought I'd come out and see you both anyway. For old time's sake." Rio smiled as Punk nodded, "How have you been? It's been-"

"Three years." Punk nodded.

"Three years." Rio nodded to himself, "Look how big this little one has gotten." He looked at Thea, walking around and looking at her face, "That's just a little miniature Mendez, isn't it?" He smiled as Punk nodded, watching him closely.

"I should… I should get her in." Punk nodded.

"Of course." Rio nodded just as he saw AJ walking out of the house.

She was originally wondering what was taking Punk so long, so she came out to check and certainly didn't expect to see what she did.

"Rio." AJ shook her head.

"There she is." Rio smiled, "One of my favourite girls." He said as AJ turned to Punk who gave her a telling look of 'why is he here?' which she reciprocated.

"W-What… what are you doing here?" AJ walked over.

"Well when I was writing out invitations for my wedding, I only invited some of the people I really know, I really trust… I was a little sad you guys couldn't make it so I thought I'd pop out and see you both. Planning a wedding, seeing old faces, it had me reminiscing about the good old days." He nodded to Punk who looked back.

"And you just happened to know our address?" AJ questioned as Rio turned to her.

"It's a small town, April." Rio nodded.

"Not really." AJ challenged as Rio smiled. The only woman who challenged him was her, and that was why he had a soft spot for her.

"You wanna take her in?" Punk turned to AJ, passing Thea over to her as AJ nodded, looking up at Punk with worry as he just nodded in assurance, "It's fine." Punk nodded as AJ looked over at Rio, slowly backing away into the house with Thea whilst Punk turned his attention back to Rio.

"Look at you two." Rio smiled, "All grown up. I remember bailing you both out of jail. You had to have been… eighteen? Seventeen?" He questioned, "You're doing good."

"Thanks." Punk nodded, "You still… you know-"

"Working?" Rio chuckled a little, "Yeah. Yeah, but I've calmed down." He assured, "It's not crazy like it was when you worked for me." He said as Punk nodded slowly, "Why don't we go inside?" He asked as Punk nodded.

"Sure." Punk said, walking on into the house as Rio followed, having a look around whilst he strolled on.

"Damn, this place really is nice." Rio admired, "And you bought it legit?" He asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "All legit." He said as Rio nodded, following him through to the kitchen.

"Damn, look at that splash back." Rio said as Punk looked over, "You get spaghetti sauce out of that and stuff?" He asked, looking at the white splashback as Punk shook his head with confusion.

"Y-Yeah… yeah, I guess." Punk nodded.

"Nice." Rio nodded to himself, "Sweet." He noticed Thea's drawings on the fridge, "She's three, right?"

"Yeah, three." Punk nodded, "Almost four." He said.

"Seems like just yesterday April was pregnant." Rio nodded, "And you were in prison." He said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Look, we were gonna come to the wedding for sure but we struggle for babysitters with Thea and… I don't know if bumping into old faces would have been good for us." Punk said, "But we did wanna come and see you, clear the air-"

"Clear the air?" Rio questioned, "Come on, there's no air to be cleared. We're all good." Rio assured him as Punk sat down across from him, "Hey, you were a good worker but you had to pay for it and I don't blame you for packing it all in. This is a beautiful life you got here." He said as Punk nodded just as AJ came into the kitchen, "April, I was just telling Phil that… there's no air to be cleared between us." Rio said as AJ walked over to Punk, sitting down beside him.

"Not even between you and me?" AJ questioned.

"Oh, April." Rio laughed, "What you did was incredibly stupid, of course, but… you were just a little girl, and you were pregnant, seeing someone you love suffering… I understand."

"But you said to me-"

"I told you that I'd never help you again." Rio nodded, "That still stands. Because I don't trust you anymore, doesn't mean I don't like you." He shrugged as AJ nodded slowly, "I mean I feel like I raised you both and here we all are… I feel proud." He admitted as AJ and Punk looked at him.

"Proud that we made it without having to sell drugs?" AJ questioned as Rio looked at her.

"Proud that you're both staying out of trouble, was what I was going for." Rio nodded, "Is the family still in Puerto Rico?" He asked AJ.

"As far as I know. I don't speak to them." AJ said as Rio nodded, "So who is the lucky girl you're marrying?" She questioned. They could be civil, if he was.

"Marina." Rio nodded, "You'd both like her. She's calmed me down a lot, you know." He said, "I met her at my club."

"Your club?" Punk shook his head.

"Oh, yeah. I have a club now." Rio said, "You kids would have loved it back when you were living in motels. It's called Proxy, not far away from the main strip."

"That's your club?" AJ questioned. She'd never been, but she'd heard the girls in work talking about it. It was a pretty big spot for young people.

"Yeah. I thought… I have all this money, do something with it. And it's also a backyard set up for the suppliers." He nodded to Punk who knew what he meant, "Things run a lot smoother." He said.

"Good for you." AJ nodded.

"Mhm." Rio nodded, "What are you two doing?" He asked.

"I'm on the construction sites with my brother." Punk nodded.

"How is Dean? I always liked him." Rio nodded.

"He's good." Punk nodded, not going into too much detail.

"And you?" Rio turned to AJ.

"I work at a coffee shop." AJ nodded, "And I go to college."

"Damn, mami. College?" Rio asked, "Jesus does love a trier. He does." Rio nodded as AJ glared at him, "What? Scum like us don't do college-"

"There is no us." AJ made clear.

"No, but there used to be." Rio nodded, "Remember when I'd give y'all money? For food, for a place to stay, practically bought your first apartment." He said.

"No, I worked for that. And then suffered the consequences." Punk said.

"Yeah and who is to blame for that?" Rio asked, smiling over to AJ, "Hey, I just came here to catch up. We have no bad blood." He assured them.

"I'm glad." Punk nodded, "Because you were a good friend to us." He made clear.

"You were." AJ admitted as Rio smiled and nodded.

"Well I'm glad we can all agree on that." Rio nodded, "I'm glad to see you both moving on. I am." He said sincerely, "I can't help feel just a little guilty for the deterioration of your relationship back then."

"Whys that?" AJ asked curiously.

"Well maybe I should have let you go." Rio nodded to Punk, "Then maybe April wouldn't have to do go to the cops, and everything wouldn't have gone so wrong." He said, "But… you wanted to be there."

"Things were just different back then." Punk said as Rio nodded.

"Yeah, they were." Rio said, "And honestly, when you came to me when you were pregnant, I should never have let you work with me." He looked at AJ as Punk turned to her.

"What?" Punk shook his head as AJ looked across at Rio.

"Oh, you've not told him?" Rio questioned as AJ turned to Punk.

"You were working for him?" Punk questioned.

"it was just a couple weeks." AJ assured him, "Just for the money."

"Damn, I gotta stop coming in and causing fights for you both." Rio said to himself as Punk looked at AJ who looked down, "Phil, trust me, it was just innocent stuff… she needed cash, she was pregnant, you'd gone-"

"Shut up a minute." Punk told him as Rio scoffed, "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked AJ.

"It's not a big deal." AJ said, "We'll talk about it later."

"I should be going anyway." Rio stood up, "Really wish you were coming to the wedding." He said, "But I understand." He nodded to them both, "Maybe we could see more of each other?"

"Maybe." Punk nodded, still looking at AJ who was trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"I'll see myself out." Rio nodded to them both, leaving the kitchen, smirking to himself as he left the house whilst AJ turned to Punk. Suddenly Rio was the least of their problems.

"Phil, it was just a couple weeks work, I had no money. I was up for eviction, I had to do something." AJ said.

"I'm not mad about you doing it, I'm mad you didn't tell me." Punk said.

"There was no point, it was a few weeks and it meant nothing-"

"What did you do?" Punk questioned.

"I just… I moved some things." AJ shrugged, "It was the quickest way to get cash."

"And he wouldn't just give it to you for free?" Punk questioned.

"No, he asked me to do a couple jobs for him. And I was desperate." AJ said.

"All the slack you give me of the poor choices I made… and you fail to tell me you worked for him too?" Punk asked angrily.

"Excuse me but I worked for him for a few weeks. You worked with him for over a year, and you enjoyed it. I was miserable and scared." She said, "And I was pregnant. It was the worst time of my life-"

"That's why you didn't want to go to the wedding." Punk nodded, "That's what you meant, talking about feeling ashamed… it's because of that?" He asked.

"I knew if we went he'd bring it up and I also… there's people there who knew me from working with him and I just… it brings back horrible memories, ok?" AJ questioned.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Punk asked as AJ stood up.

"Because I was embarrassed, obviously." AJ said as Punk ran his hands through his hair, "Look it's not a big deal, back then was a terrible time, for both of us." She said, "And I'm sick of always having to think back to it."

"You damn well should have told me." Punk said. He felt like it was something he should have known, something they should have talked about, certainly before now.

"What difference does it even make?" AJ asked.

"What jobs did you do for him?" Punk asked her.

"It was just… I moved some things, I did a few Thursday nights." She said, "And then he started asking more of me and that's when I said no. I managed to get rid of the eviction and I told myself I was gonna get a job." She said, "And Rio let me go." She nodded, "Can we just forget about it and talk about how weird it is that he just showed up to have a pleasant conversation with us?" AJ questioned.

"No, I'm mad you never told me." Punk shook his head, "It's an occurring theme that he always pops up to tell me about all the stuff you get up to and don't tell me about-"

"Don't you dare say it like that." AJ warned, "Don't lecture me on working for him. You're not really the best person for that." She said, "I did it because I was desperate, you did it because you enjoyed it."

"Whatever, I don't even wanna argue about it." Punk shook his head, waving his hand, "I'm going to bed." He shook his head tiredly.

"Phil." AJ said as he walked out of the kitchen, sighing to herself and running her hand through her hair.

Rio may not have been a violent man, a scary person, but he definitely brought the chaos wherever he went, and she didn't feel good about his appearance back in their lives.


	52. Hiding

**Hiding**

* * *

"Phil, we're talking about this." AJ said, getting into bed, kneeling up beside Punk who was laying on his back with his eyes closed, "I know you're not sleeping." She scoffed as he opened one eye, "We're talking about this."

"You should have told me." Punk said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard as she looked at him.

"Ok, yeah… I should have." AJ said, "But that was… the lowest part of my life. I was a mess. I was pregnant, on my own, about to get evicted… it was the only thing I could think of. I mean do you really think I would have done it if I wasn't desperate?" She asked as he looked at her.

"No." Punk said, "But not telling me looks like you're hiding it from me." He said, "And to have him come in and tell me fucking sucked."

"I know." AJ nodded, "I know... I just, I didn't want to tell you because it made me feel like a piece of shit. I felt like I was at the bottom of the food chain. Disposable." She said, "And so I blocked it out for the most part." She said.

"I would have understood." He said, "I do understand. It was a difficult time." He said as AJ nodded, "I just wish you told me."

"I do too." AJ nodded, "I'm sorry, I should have." She said, "But you can't get mad at me for doing it."

"I'm mad that he made you. He could have just gave you some money without doing the job. I'm surprised he got you involved." Punk admitted.

"I was too." AJ said, "When I went to him I… I asked if I could borrow some money. I said I would find a way to get it back to him but then he said if I did a couple jobs for him then I wouldn't have to owe him anything." She said, "I was just so desperate."

"I should have been there." Punk shook his head.

"Look, we don't have to go back in time and relive it all. I'm sick of it always popping back up. Why can't we just… live our lives now?" She sighed, "Whether it's Hamilton popping up or it's Rio suddenly coming back into our lives… it feels like it's just never going away." She shook her head.

"Why'd you think he came?" Punk asked her.

"He knew I would never have told you." AJ nodded, "Ironic how he always pops up and gets in between us." She said as Punk nodded, "I don't care if you think he's still a friend… he doesn't come with good intentions." AJ said as Punk looked at her.

"Did something go on with you and him?" Punk asked her as AJ looked at him.

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"He just… he kept looking at you weird." Punk shook his head, running his hands over his face as AJ gulped, "Life without him in it is so much easier." He groaned.

"Yeah, tell me about it." AJ nodded as he looked at her, "He's not worth our time. He'll… he'll stay away. Him coming back just reminded me of everything that happened and… I mean how can we move on?"

"I know." Punk sighed. It was the first time in a long while that he'd been confronted with his past so head on. Seeing Rio did bring back all the painful memories that AJ talked about, and it was difficult to be in the same room as him. He never thought it would be, but it was. And knowing that he'd got AJ to work for him just rubbed him up the wrong way. It almost felt like he had taken advantage of her in her most lowest moment, and that made him incredibly angry. He was no friend of his if that was the intentions.

"He'll stay away. He just pops up to create an atmosphere and then leaves." AJ shook her head, "We're doing good, Phil." She sighed as he looked at her, feeling her take his hand, "If anything tonight was a reminder that… we're so past all of that. We have our own family, a better life." She said as he nodded.

"I'm so glad." He shook his head as AJ nodded, "I'm sorry for going off like that… I should have… I should have let you talk… truth is I'm just… I'm sorry you had to do it." He said as she looked at him.

"It's not your fault." AJ shook her head.

"No, but it is actually." Punk shrugged, "Maybe if I was there-"

"You might have still been working for him." AJ said, "You going to prison was the worst thing that happened for me but… honestly, it was the best thing that happened for you. You needed out." She nodded, "And when you came out you were… you were you again." She smiled as he nodded, "And you're still you-"

"I'm so lucky to have you and Thea and this… this life we've managed to create for ourselves." Punk nodded, "I couldn't imagine still being involved with Rio." He sighed to himself.

"You don't have to." AJ nodded, "I'm tired of letting all of that affect us." She shook her head, "We worked hard, we are working hard to build a future and a life… and we did that on our own." She said as he nodded with a smile, "No one is taking that away from us."

"I know." Punk nodded as she sighed, crawling over to him and wrapping her arms around his body, curling down beside him, "Just promise me you'll always talk to me and… tell me things." He sighed, "No matter what it is." He said as she nodded, feeling a tear roll down her cheek, "Because I'm here, and it's me… you don't gotta hide things from me." He kissed her head as she nodded, discreetly wiping the tears spilling out.

"I know." She whispered, hugging him tightly.

* * *

"_Sweetie, can I get you anything?" A waitress asked AJ who was sat in a café late on one night. Her hair was soaking wet from the rain outside, her hands were still shaking in front of her as she was sat in a daze, "Hey." The waitress tried to get her attention._

"_Huh?" AJ turned around._

"_Can I get you something?" The waitress asked._

"_How much is water?" AJ asked._

"_A dollar." The waitress said as AJ put her hand in her pockets, pulling out a few cents as the waitress watched her, "I'll bring it over." The waitress nodded._

"_I don't think I have-"_

"_It's ok." The waitress nodded to her sincerely, walking away as AJ sighed to herself. The waitress returned to the table, sitting down the water as AJ thanked her gratefully._

_She sat, barely moving at the table in the pretty much empty café, listening as the rain battered down against the window. When she walked to the café, she barely even felt the rain hitting her, she was so lost._

_She sat at the table in her daze, coming out of it when she saw a familiar face stumbling through the café door, sighing to herself as she watched Punk's mother walk over to the counter. _

_She sat watching her and realised that she didn't actually look as drunk as she normally did. She'd been drinking of course, but she almost looked stable for the first time. She watched as she got a bottle of water from the counter, turning to leave when she noticed AJ sitting at the back of the café._

_AJ watched her hesitate to leave the café, but then watched as she appeared to walk towards her._

"_Hi, honey." Sam nodded as AJ looked at her._

"_Hi." AJ nodded, watching as she sat down on a chair at the table._

"_You're a little wet." Sam pointed out as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, I know." AJ said as Sam looked at her._

"_You don't look ok." Sam noted, watching as AJ nodded with tears filling her eyes._

"_That's because I'm not." AJ shrugged, tears running down her cheeks as Sam sighed, grabbing some napkins from the holder and passing them to her, "What are you even doing in here?"_

"_What? Because I'm alcoholic I can't have a bottle of water sometimes?" Sam questioned as AJ looked at her, "I was… actually on my way out." She said as AJ nodded, figuring that all ready._

"_Don't stop on my account." AJ said._

"_I heard about Phil." Sam nodded as AJ looked at her, "Stupid boy." She concluded, "Growing up around me… I thought he'd learn better." She shook her head._

"_Growing up around you was the damn problem." AJ spat angrily as Sam nodded._

"_Yeah, maybe." Sam said, "How long has he got?"_

"_Five years but he's getting an appeal so… could be a lot shorter." AJ nodded, "We're not even together so… doesn't really matter anyway." She said. She was torn between missing him so much that she felt like she couldn't breathe without him, and also hating his guts for what he did to her before he'd gone to prison._

"_You're still allowed to miss him." Sam nodded as AJ sighed, leaning back and running her hands through her hair as Sam noticed her pregnant bump of around four months._

"_Everything is just a mess-"_

"_You're pregnant." Sam said as AJ turned to her, realising the wetness of her t-shirt was really showing her bump, "Phil's?" She asked as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah." AJ nodded as Sam raised her eyebrows, "A girl." AJ said as Sam smiled a little._

"_Does Phil know?" Sam asked._

"_Yeah he knows." AJ nodded, "Yeah, I told him and then he cheated on me so…" She shrugged, "I think I pretty much know how he feels about it." She said as Sam sighed._

"_I'm not saying that I know my son very well because I don't but… this all seems very out of character." Sam said, "I mean I knew how he felt about my habits and always getting into trouble with the police, never being there for him and now… now he's in prison and he's gonna miss his first child being born." Sam said as AJ nodded._

"_I just feel so alone right now." AJ shook her head, her hands shaking as she scratched her arms with agitation, which Sam noticed._

"_Where were you?" Sam questioned as AJ looked up._

"_What?" AJ shook her head._

"_Well… I'm sure you didn't just come out in the rain for a water." Sam said, "Where'd you come from?" Sam questioned curiously._

"_Just… a… a friend's." AJ said, barely being able to say it, beginning to cry again as Sam watched._

"_A friend's?" Sam questioned._

"_It's ok. I'm fine." AJ nodded, drying her tears, "It's fine." She nodded to herself as Sam looked at her. _

_She could see how vulnerable this poor girl was right now. She didn't have to be totally sober to notice. But she was sober enough to be worried._

"_Are you in trouble?" Sam asked her as AJ shook her head, "Has someone hurt you?" She asked as AJ shook her head, crying a little more as she wiped under her eyes, "Can I give you a hug?" She asked, sensing that she really needed one, and sensing that something had happened to her._

_AJ nodded as Sam shuffled her chair close to hers, wrapping her arms around her as AJ leaned into her and cried. It wasn't the hug she expected to get, but oddly… one she was glad she had right now._


	53. Something Bad

**Something Bad**

* * *

"_I waited and no one showed up." AJ said, walking into Rio's place where he was sitting on his couch._

"_Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that I moved the days around this week to fit my schedule." Rio nodded as AJ looked at him._

"_Yeah and I moved my hospital appointment around this week to fit your schedule for me." AJ spat as Rio continued watching TV, "You know what… I think I'm done here." AJ nodded as Rio turned his full attention to her._

"_You're done?" Rio asked as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, I… I made enough money to lift the eviction." AJ said._

"_What about rent?" Rio questioned._

"_I'll figure it out. I just… I can't do this anymore." AJ said as Rio watched her._

"_No one is gonna judge you. You're a young, single, pregnant girl who needs money… gotta do what you gotta do." Rio shrugged._

"_Yeah except it makes me feel this big." She said, showing a small measurement with her fingers, "I just… it's not me, I can't… I can't do it." She said. She was desperate for the money but she just couldn't keep up with things. It scared her. She was scared._

"_Why don't you come sit down and just take a deep breath." Rio shook his head as AJ sighed, walking over and taking a seat on the couch, "You know I'm just trying to help."_

"_If you wanted to help me you would have let Phil go when I asked you too." AJ said._

"_Phil's problem was he was actually terrifyingly good at working with me." Rio said, "He didn't wanna leave."_

"_How can you be good at this?" AJ scoffed._

"_He's a good talker. Smart guy." Rio nodded, "And he's fiercely loyal-_

"_Really? Loyal?" AJ questioned._

"_Well to me." Rio shrugged as AJ sighed._

"_I'm just… I'm in such a mess and I don't know how I'm gonna get out of it. And when this baby comes it's… it's gonna be even more difficult and I just… sometimes I just feel like I can't breath-" She gasped._

"_Ok, calm down." Rio turned to her, turning the TV off, "Calm down." He nodded as she looked at him, "You're gonna be fine. You will figure it out. I've known you since you were a little girl. You've always got a plan."_

"_I have no plan for this." AJ made clear._

"_You're gonna be ok. You gotta tell yourself that instead of panicking." Rio said, placing his hand on her leg as she sighed, "You've still got your whole life ahead of you. You're only nineteen." He said as AJ turned to him._

"_That doesn't help me right now." AJ said, "It doesn't change anything. I mean if I don't get evicted now… I'll get evicted in another couple months." She shrugged, "I keep applying for jobs and no one wants to hire me… I wouldn't want to hire me." She realised._

"_Would you stop it?" Rio said, "You're an amazing young woman, ok? You're strong and you're… beautiful." He said as AJ looked at him. It was an odd thing for him to say but she just shrugged it off, not thinking much of it._

"_I'm just so scared. I'm scared about the future and having this baby… I might just turn into my mom." She worried._

"_You're not like your mom." Rio laughed, "No way."_

"_I could end up like her." AJ worried._

"_Impossible." Rio said, "You're way prettier than her." He teased as AJ looked at him, "You just gotta relax. It's gonna be fine." He nodded, moving his hand a little further up her leg as AJ started to realise what he was doing. She then watched as he leaned in and kissed her, which she immediately pushed him away._

"_What are you doing?" AJ asked worriedly. This was the last thing she needed. He was like a brother figure to her all her life, in and out of her life when she was young when he was helping out her parents, but not only that… she simply did not wish to be hit on or touched by him, and that was reason enough._

"_What?" Rio laughed, "You just look really stressed."_

"_Yeah well kissing me won't help that." AJ made clear as he looked at her._

"_I don't think Phil realised how lucky he was." Rio commented as AJ looked at him, still feeling his hand brushing up her leg, making her progressively more uncomfortable. She got up to walk away when he pulled her back down by the wrist, "Just relax a little." He said, leaning in and kissing her neck._

"_What are you doing?" AJ asked, horrified, trying to push him away as she suddenly felt him push her down on the couch, all of his weight holding her down, "Rio… stop it." AJ begged._

"_Come on, you always had a little crush on me." He teased, kissing her neck._

"_No, please get off of me." AJ begged, starting to panic as she felt lifeless underneath him. Being overpowered in such a way was so frightening and numbing. It was then she began wriggling and fighting him off as much as she could, feeling him undo her jeans, "Get off!" AJ screamed, feeling him place his hand over her mouth aggressively as he looked at her._

"_I bet if you're little plan worked out… it'd be me sitting in that prison cell right now." He said as AJ's eyes widened, still trying to fight him off but it was useless. How he found out about her going to the cops was beyond her. Suddenly she felt in more danger than ever before, "You think you can play me? How dumb do you think I am?" He spat as AJ looked at him, "I'd rather be in a prison cell than have a rat girlfriend." He said as AJ looked at him, "This is a long time coming for you." He spat as AJ shook her head, feeling him touching her breasts as she cried, "Never did it with a pregnant girl before." He smirked, placing his hand on her bump as AJ's eyes widened._

_She freed her legs from underneath him, kicking him away aggressively before rolling off the couch. For some reason her legs wouldn't work and her only instinct was to crawl, quickly trying to get out as Rio came from behind her, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up as she elbowed him in the stomach, turning around and slapping him across the face before running as fast as she could out of the apartment._

_She kept running and running, not looking back. She barely even realised that it was pouring rain outside. She just kept running, losing her breath from a mixture of exhaustion and panic, but the shock was helping her stay active._

_She ran for a while until she saw an empty café, quickly running into it…_

* * *

"I don't want this." Thea sighed, sitting at breakfast in the morning as she played around with her oatmeal, "It's lumpy."

"That's just how it is." Punk said whilst AJ sat beside Thea at the table. She had a day off from college and was taking the time to catch up on anything she'd missed.

"Hey, baby why don't you try put a banana in it?" AJ asked her as Thea looked at her with confusion, "Like this." She showed her the oatmeal and banana she had in her bowl as Thea looked on, intrigued.

"Oh." Thea looked on.

"Ask daddy to cut you up some banana." AJ smiled as Thea turned to Punk.

"Daddy can you cut me a banana please?" Thea asked him.

"Of course I can." Punk nodded, cutting up some banana for her and helping her put it in her oatmeal, turning to AJ and nodding with admiration as AJ smirked. It felt good whenever they could convince Thea to eat something she vowed not to.

"Daddy." Thea hummed.

"What?" Punk replied.

"I don't want you to go to work." Thea said, "Can you stay?" She questioned as AJ smiled at the sweetness.

"I wish I could." Punk smiled, leaning down and kissing her head, "But I gotta go." He said as she huffed, "I'll see you later on."

"Ok." Thea hummed, "Kiss Harold." She ordered, holding up her bear as Punk nodded, kissing Harold on the head as Thea smiled happily, sitting him back down beside her.

"Ok, I gotta get going." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"I'll walk you out." AJ said, getting up from the table.

"What you got planned for the day?" Punk asked her.

"I got a few essays to do and then… I don't know, I might take Thea to the park or something." AJ shrugged as Punk nodded, "Are we good?" She asked, turning into him as he looked down at her.

"Of course we're good." Punk assured her.

"Just… last night was-"

"I know." Punk nodded, "But you're right. We can't let this shit get to us. It's in the past. We've got so much to be happy for." He said as she nodded, "I just don't want you to feel like you can't tell me things." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked at him.

"I can. I just… it's a part of my life I closed off and didn't want to reopen." AJ nodded.

"I get that." He said, "I tell you what, though… Rio showing up last night really made me realise that I… I don't want him around us. Even just listening to him talking about his club, his job… it just… it brought it all back and I'm so better off, I'm so lucky here… with my two favourite people." He said as she smiled, hugging into him as he kissed her head.

"Do you think he'll come back?" AJ asked him worriedly.

"Doubt it." Punk said, "He likes just appearing and then taking off again. Probably got pissed that we weren't going to the wedding and came to stir things up with us." He shook his head as AJ nodded.

"Yeah… yeah, hopefully he just stays away." AJ nodded. It comforted her hearing how stand offish he was with Rio. She could even see it when Rio was sat in front of them. Her boyfriend no longer looked amused by him and that made things easier for her, for obvious reasons. It was very difficult pretending like things weren't as bad as they were, but telling him what happened that night, the violence, the abuse, the terror… she couldn't face it.

"I'll be home around five." Punk nodded.

"Well maybe we could do something when you get home." AJ nodded, "Order a pizza and rent a movie." She smiled.

"That sounds like my ideal night." Punk smiled as AJ nodded, "I love you." He said.

"I love you too." AJ nodded, "And I… I never kept it from you because I wanted to hide it or because I felt I couldn't talk to you… it was just… how I dealt with it." She said as Punk nodded.

"Hey, I get it." He nodded, "We just gotta stop letting this shit get to us." He shook his head, "We're past it. And I am super stoked about where we are right now." He said as she smiled.

"Yeah, me too." AJ nodded, leaning up and kissing him softly.

"Mommy!" Thea called from the kitchen as AJ broke away from the kiss as Punk smiled.

"Good idea with the banana in the oatmeal. We got her fooled." He nodded, putting his hand out as she gave him a high five and smiled.

"Get out of here." She smiled, watching as he walked out of the door and left for work.


	54. The Truth

**The Truth**

* * *

"He came to your house?" Dean asked Punk on the way home from work.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "I thought seeing him again would be better, you know? It'd cut off any hard feelings he had and we could move on but… seeing him again just freaked me out." Punk admitted as Dean nodded.

"I'm not surprised after everything you went through." Dean said, "What did he say to you?"

"Well nothing much, just his usual nonsense. But then he brought it up that April worked for him whilst I was in prison. So that caused a fight-"

"She worked for him?" Dean questioned as Punk nodded.

"Yeah but it was desperation. She needed money quick and that was all she thought of. I'm not mad at her for doing it, how could I be?" He shook his head, "I just wish that she told me and I never heard it from him." Punk shook his head, "Then he just left. It was like he enjoyed coming in and getting in between us." He said, "And he kept looking at AJ and she kept glaring at him like… I don't know, like she really hated him." Punk nodded.

"You think he'll stay away?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I mean I think so." Punk said, "It's what he does. He shows up and causes an atmosphere and then leaves again." He shrugged, "He claimed he was just coming to see us because we couldn't make it to the wedding." He said.

"Well hopefully he stays gone." Dean nodded.

"It brought it all back." Punk nodded, "Seeing him again. Listening to him talking. My head had to have been really fucked back then to work with that guy every day." He realised.

"Well… it was." Dean nodded, "But you've moved on from that." He said as Punk nodded, "No matter what you and AJ think, you're gonna move on. I know it's still on both your minds, how we used to live, but it'll slowly fade as time goes by. I feel it fading." He said as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I do too. But Rio showing up sort of brought it all back, and then… fighting with AJ sucked." He sighed, "I just worry that she keeps things from me because she's scared of what I'll think or do." He admitted.

"Come on, she's always honest with you. She probably didn't tell you about working for Rio because… she hated it herself. She probably tried to forget it happened." He said as Punk nodded, "Just forget about the guy. He just brings chaos wherever he goes." He shook his head.

* * *

Punk dropped Dean off and eventually headed home. He stopped by and got some flowers for AJ, a bunch that he knew she would like. He could see as of late she was struggling. It was almost like moving into the house brought back everything that happened, and Rio showing up certainly didn't help. He just wanted to make sure she was ok.

He got into the house, closing the door behind him as he walked into the living room where AJ was sitting with Thea watching TV.

"Hey." Punk smiled.

"Daddy." Thea gasped, jumping off the couch and running over to him as he scooped her up with one arm.

AJ smiled as she noticed the bunch of flowers he was holding.

"Hey, monster. What are you doing?" Punk asked her.

"Watching Chicken Run." Thea told him as he smiled, taking his cap off and putting it on her which was of course too big for her, causing her to tilt it up and look at him with a laugh.

"Too big?" Punk figured as she nodded.

"Daddy are these for me?" Thea looked at the flowers, touching some of them and smiling.

"Well… not quite." Punk said as Thea frowned, "But you can help give them to mommy for me." He smiled as Thea nodded.

"Ok." Thea said as Punk put her down, handing her the flowers as Thea ran over to AJ, "Mommy these are for you." She said as AJ took the flowers whilst Thea put her hands behind her back and watched with a smile.

"Oh, wow… these are beautiful." AJ smiled.

"You should say thanks, daddy." Thea nodded.

"Thanks, daddy." AJ smiled over to Punk who chuckled and nodded, "Aren't these pretty?" She asked Thea who nodded, looking on at the flowers, "Which one is your favourite?" She asked.

"That one." Thea pointed to one of the flowers.

"Yeah, mine too I think." AJ smiled, "I better put them in some water." She said, "You watch the film, baby." She nodded as Thea got back onto the couch, grabbing her blanket and tuning back into her film as Punk smiled.

He followed AJ into the kitchen, watching as she got out a vase and filled it up with water.

"These are beautiful, thank you." AJ nodded as he smiled, "I think Thea was a little upset she didn't get her own bunch." She smiled a little as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I gotta remember for next time to get two." He said as AJ smiled, cutting the stems of the flowers and sitting them in the vase.

"You still wanna get pizza?" She asked him.

"Yeah, sure." Punk nodded as AJ looked at the flowers, adjusting them. Putting more of her truth off, not telling him, it was harder when he was so easy to talk to. He wasn't the issue in any of this. She had just held it so close to her, vowing to not telling anyone, that trying to come out with the words was incredibly difficult. But she always wanted him to know.

"Phil." AJ turned around as Punk nodded, "Can we talk?" She asked as he looked at her.

"Sure we can." Punk said as AJ nodded, taking a seat at the table as he sat down across from her, "Are you ok?" He asked her as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ok." AJ nodded, "But… I don't want to hide anything from you." She said as he looked at her, "And I don't want you to think that I never told you because you were too difficult to talk to. This was all me. This was my choice and my feelings." She said, "It was easier for me."

"What?" Punk shook his head, "What are you talking about?" He asked as AJ looked at him.

"Whilst I was working for Rio…" AJ began, swallowing the dryness in her throat, "I called it quits with him after a few weeks. It was too difficult. I… I got the money I needed and I figured that I would just figure it out. I was getting more pregnant and I just… I didn't want to be around him or his job." She said as he nodded, "So I was at his apartment one night and I told him that I was done. I was kinda freaking out and he… he sat me down, tried to calm me down…" She said, feeling her stomach in knots just thinking back to it.

She'd practically grew up on the streets, she'd faced hardship in her life, she'd struggled, she'd fought… but never had she felt so victimised like Rio had made her that night. Never had she been so terrified.

"I thought he was just being nice. A friend." AJ rolled her eyes as Punk looked across at her, "Telling me that it'd be fine and that I'd figure something out." She said, "And then he tried to kiss me." She nodded as Punk looked at her.

"He what?" Punk raised his brows as AJ looked at him.

"I pushed him away, asked him what the hell he was doing and he was just… he kept telling me to relax and… then he… he pushed me down on the couch." She said as Punk looked across at her, shaking his head a little in disbelief.

"I kept telling him no." AJ said, "Asking him to get off me, to stop it… but he wouldn't." She said as Punk looked across at her. She could see the hurt in his eyes, the concern, the disbelief, "Then he… he told me that he knew I was the one who went to the cops and that he knew it was supposed to be for him." AJ said, "He started… touching my body-"

She watched as he stood up, never seeing him look so angry in her life.

"I'm gonna kill him." Punk said calmly, leaving the kitchen as AJ followed.

"Phil, wait…" AJ ran after him, "Hey, stop." AJ said, taking his hand and pulling him back from reaching the door, "Don't you think I want you here right now? I need you here." She said as he looked down at her.

"I… I banged on about how good he was to us and all along he…" He looked down at her, "He can't get away with it." He was running on pure anger. It was a natural coping mechanism, to hear something so horrifying had happened to the person he loved the most, and knowing he couldn't protect her was the worst part.

"I want you to stay here." AJ said, "Please, don't go near him." AJ begged. She knew if he went to Rio, all hell would break loose and she didn't want that, "Please." AJ looked up at him, "Please just stay here with me." She nodded tearfully.

This was hard enough as it was without having to watch him get put in jail for killing Rio. She needed him here, not just for her, but for his own safety too.

"Did he rape you?" Punk looked across at her. It wasn't something he thought he'd ever have to ask. He felt numb. Shocked. Heartbroken.

"No… no, he didn't get a chance." AJ said, "I got out." She nodded, "And I just… I didn't tell you because I felt bad and… I asked myself if it was my fault, and… and I… I just…. I tried forgetting it happened and-"

"Shh." Punk shook his head, wrapping his arms around her softly, "Shh, it's ok." He nodded, rubbing her back softly as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. She felt so relieved to tell him but still so shaken up having to relive such a nightmare.

Punk was completely shocked by what he'd heard. He was angry, upset, enraged. Knowing she had been hurt in this way, by someone that they both thought they could at least trust at that time in their lives.

"This was not your fault." Punk made clear, keeping her in his arms, where he knew she would be safe. He couldn't believe any of this. He never wanted to let her go. His heart was broken for her and this nightmare she'd gone through.


	55. Enemy

**Enemy**

* * *

"When… When did it even happen?" Punk asked, sitting in the kitchen with AJ later that night.

They'd taken Thea for her bath and put her to bed, having to put the emotions of the night on hold to make sure their daughter never picked up on the atmosphere. If anything, it actually helped calm them both down being able to spend some time with their daughter. Her brightness and fun spirit definitely lifted theirs.

"It was a month or so after you'd gone to prison." AJ nodded, "I was like four months pregnant I think." She said.

"All the times I banged on about him helping us out so much and being good to us." He shook his head, "And along he tried to… he hurt you." He said.

"You didn't know. I just went along with you because I couldn't bring myself to tell you." She said, "Not because of you, because of me. Telling you meant really bringing it to reality." She sighed.

"All that stuff about being ashamed of your past… you don't mean this, do you?" He asked as she looked at him, "Because you have nothing to be ashamed of, April. You didn't do anything. He's the piece of shit." Punk said.

He'd always viewed Rio as somewhat a friend. As time went by and things changed, of course he realised that his downfall was with him, being in his company and working with him, but he always viewed him as a loyal person regardless. But now… how opinions had changed. Completely. He felt sick to his stomach thinking about him hurting AJ, thinking about how scared she had to have been.

"I thought maybe I gave him mixed signals or-"

"Hey… no, you don't do that." He said. He certainly wasn't going to have her blame herself for this, "You told him no. Multiple times. No means no." He said as AJ nodded.

"It's why I couldn't face going to the wedding." AJ said, "I was just at such a low point in my life back then… it was like, I felt like it couldn't get any worse and then he attacked me." She said, "I just lost it after that." She shook her head, "I was scared he was gonna come back and do it again." She shook her head as Punk sighed, extending his hand over and taking hers.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here." Punk shook his head. He hated himself for having to leave her. For leaving her in such a mess. Leaving her with his mistakes lingering around.

"It's ok, it's not your fault." AJ said, "He did it because I went to the cops. So you staying wouldn't have changed what he did."

"Maybe not but I could have beat his ass." Punk spat angrily.

"No, I don't want that." AJ said, "Promise me you'll not go out looking for a fight. That's not you anymore. We're better than that." She said, "I mean he's probably got a whole plan waiting for you. And with Hamilton lurking around he'll latch onto anything he can find." AJ said, "You have too much to lose."

"He can't get away with what he did." Punk said. He'd never felt so much hatred for someone in all his life.

"I guess he thought I was an easy target." AJ shrugged, "Crying all the time, single, alone…" She shrugged.

"Nothing you did meant he had an invitation to do… what he done." Punk said.

"I know." AJ said, "But please just… just promise me you won't do anything stupid." She said as he looked across at her. It was hard to do that when he was so angry.

"Mhm." He nodded to her.

"Phil." AJ said, not convinced.

"I promise." Punk nodded, "His day will come."

"I kept saying that to myself." She said, "I just always hoped and prayed we'd hear about him getting caught and going to prison." She shook her head, "That's why he knocked down my door, just a few weeks after I had Thea, not long before you got out." She said as Punk remembered her telling him.

"_You're such a good girl." AJ smiled, holding her few week old baby girl in her arms, walking into the bedroom in the apartment where Thea's crib was._

_She had bought a ton of second-hand things from a store in town with the money she'd made from her job. She had to pass on fancy luxuries such as changing mats. She had to just use her bed which wasn't ideal but she had no choice in the matter._

"_There we go." AJ whispered, walking over to the crib and putting Thea down in it. Motherhood hadn't come easy to her. It'd been a long, tiring few weeks of no sleeping, but the love she had for this little angel made everything seem just fine._

_She suddenly heard a knock at her door. She left the bedroom and looked down the hall to the apartment door. She never got people at the door, or visiting her for that matter, especially not at this time of night._

"_April." Rio hummed as AJ gulped, backing up against the kitchen door, hiding away from the hallway. She hadn't saw or heard from Rio since that night he attacked her. She kept thinking he would show up, but he never did. And now she was even more terrified because she had something much more important to protect than herself… her baby girl._

"_Obviously you're in there." Rio smiled, standing outside the door as AJ stayed in the kitchen. She figured she would ignore him until he left. Her door was locked and on the latch, therefore he couldn't get in…_

_She thought too soon as she heard a loud bang followed by her entire door bursting open. She placed her hand over her mouth, realising he was in the apartment. She quickly walked out into the hallway for him to see her. She was terrified he would go into the bedroom where Thea was._

"_What do you want?" AJ asked with worry as Rio smiled._

"_Well I just came to say congratulations, of course." Rio nodded, "I heard you had the baby."_

"_You're not welcome here anymore." AJ made clear as Rio walked towards her._

"_Why is that?" Rio questioned._

"_You know why." AJ spat, "I never thought you were like that-"_

"_And I never thought you would rat me out to the police." Rio said, tilting her head up by her chin with his finger as AJ quickly moved her head away, "I guess we're still learning things about each other." He smirked as AJ glared at him._

"_Get out of my apartment." AJ said, "I don't want to see you ever again." She made clear. It was terrifying just having a conversation with this man now. Her opinion on him changed the second he tried to attack her. She knew what she did, going to the police, trying to rat him out, wasn't good. She knew he'd be mad about that but she never thought he would try and hurt her the way he did, and act as if he'd wanted to do it all along. It made trusting people very hard for her._

"_Well you're gonna see me again." Rio nodded, "People like me don't just disappear." He assured her, "We come and go as we please."_

"_We have no reason to see each other anymore." AJ spat as Rio wrapped his hand around her neck. Not tight enough that he was choking her, but a grab enough to make a threat._

"_You proved a long time ago that I can't trust you." Rio spat, looking down at her, "Now let me make myself so very clear. If I hear of… If I find out that you try to sabotage me again, my life and my work… if you think me giving you a sweet kiss was bad… you'll be in for a shock." He said as AJ looked up at him, "But I know you're not that dumb." He said, stepping back from her as she looked across at him._

"_Get out." AJ warned as Thea suddenly began to cry from the bedroom._

"_Sounds like she wants mama." Rio nodded, backing off and walking out of the apartment, "Sorry about your door." He called on the way out as AJ took a deep breath, almost like a gasp as she saw him eventually leave._

_She quickly ran into the bedroom, over to Thea's crib and lifted her out, holding her close against her chest whilst the baby girl cried._

"I can't believe I never even questioned why he broke down the door when you told me that." Punk shook his head, looking across at AJ after she told him about it.

"Because I made it seem like it was fine." AJ shrugged, "In my head I wanted to pretend it was." She said, "And then he came back again when you were out of prison, just saying more of the same stuff again." She nodded, "I was worried that's what it would always be like, him showing all the time but… then he disappeared for three years." She scoffed.

"You think he still thinks you have it out for him?" Punk asked.

"I don't know if he thinks that or if he's worried that I tell the cops about him attacking me." She said, "But… like they would ever do anything about that, especially not for me anyway." She shook her head as Punk sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"I hate that I wasn't there for you." Punk shook his head.

"I know." AJ nodded, "But I guess it was a time in our lives where… I had to go through my shit on my own and you had to go through yours. It wasn't like you were off on some vacation." She said as he nodded, "I should have told you sooner." She realised. Just having his support, having him to talk to, it comforted her in so many levels.

"No, that's… I get it, that's something you wanna hold close to you and not let anyone know. I'm not gonna hold that against you." He assured her.

"There is also one more thing you should know about that night." AJ nodded as he looked across at her, "When I got out of the apartment I kept running. I didn't look back. Must have ran for twenty blocks or more." She said, "I got into a café and I just sat." She nodded, "And then your mom walked in."

"My mom?" Punk questioned, not expecting to hear his mother make his way into this situation.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "She actually wasn't completely drunk. She wasn't sober but… it was the best I'd ever seen her." She said, "She noticed me and came over. She was asking about you and then she saw I was pregnant. I was just reliving what had just happened to me over and over again, even whilst she was talking but… but I needed that someone to come talk to me." She realised.

"And my mom helped?" Punk questioned.

"She did actually." AJ nodded, "I know she has her demons and she's never been a mom to you but… she could tell something had just happened to me. I don't know how but… she just knew. She gave me a shoulder to cry on and… I needed it." She nodded, "I mean she could have just walked out the café when she saw me but… she was there for me."

"Did you tell her what happened?" Punk asked.

"I don't think I needed to." AJ realised, "I realise that now. It was like she just knew that something had happened and she wasn't gonna make me talk about it, she just let me cry." She nodded as Punk sighed.

"Well remind me not to be too hard on her if I ever see her again." Punk nodded to himself, never expecting his mother of all people to show any sort of compassion and sympathy.

"I will." AJ nodded, sighing to herself as Punk watched.

He stood up and walked around the table, taking a seat beside her and wrapping his arm around her.

"Do you think in like… ten years, we'll really have moved on from all of this?" AJ asked, resting her head into him as he kept his arm around her.

"I think it'll be a lot less years than that." Punk said hopefully, "I'm sorry you have to think about all of this again, I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. You're the… the strongest person I know." He said with amazement. Her ability to keep fighting back, even when she'd been to the very bottom, it gave him strength, it inspired him to be strong.

"It's ok." AJ nodded.

"No, it's not. It's not ok. No woman should ever have to go through that." He said as she nodded.

"I was so scared." AJ said as he kissed her head and sighed.

"He's never gonna hurt you again." Punk made clear as she nodded, hugging him tightly.

Any sort of appreciation he ever had for Rio, for helping them out when they were younger, had gone completely out of the window. It was already starting to digress as time went by but now it was official. He now had an enemy for life.


	56. Taken Care Of

**Taken Care Of**

* * *

"Ok, put the picture in the box." Punk nodded, sitting in the back seat of his car with Thea. He'd just picked her up from playgroup and they were parked outside the coffee shop where AJ was at work in.

"Careful with it." Thea warned, taking her drawing out of her backpack that she had made at playgroup, passing it to her father who rolled it up and slid it into the box which had other things in it.

Recently, AJ had been under the weather with a cold. Punk had tried to get her to stay in bed earlier on in the morning, but she was so adamant that she went to college and then picked her shift up at work afterwards, so he thought he and Thea would give her a little box of helpful necessities.

"Ok, we got everything?" Punk nodded, looking in the box as Thea nodded, "Ok, you put the lid on it." He said as Thea took the lid for the box and closed it over.

"It's ready." Thea smiled excitedly as Punk nodded, looking out as the rain poured down, groaning to himself.

"Ok, you stay here." Punk said, "I'm gonna run in, sit it on one of the tables and then run out. It's like… 3pm, she's normally in the back around now." He thought to himself as Thea just nodded along with him, "You stay here."

"Well where would I go?" Thea asked sassily as Punk nodded.

"I'll be a minute." He said, quickly getting out of the car and running into the coffee shop. He picked a table that needed cleared up, sitting the box down on it and rushing back out of the shop, getting into the car and starting it up.

"Did she see?" Thea asked nervously. She thought the whole thing was very exciting.

"No, no she never saw." Punk smiled, "Come on, let's get out of here." He told her as Thea smiled.

"Bye, mommy." She smiled, waving to the coffee shop as she then drew pictures on the car window with the condensation.

Meanwhile, AJ had just come out from the back of the coffee shop. She'd been going around with tissues stuffed in her pockets, taking cold and flu medicine every few hours to help her get through the day.

"It's pouring outside again." AJ groaned, walking past Jenna who was emptying the trash.

"Wouldn't be surprised if that's how you got your cold." Jenna nodded.

"Yeah, it probably was." AJ coughed, sneezing again and bringing out her tissue from her cardigan. Her eyes were heavy and her nose was sore from constantly rubbing it. She seriously regretted not staying in bed this morning.

"Hey you can go home." Jenna assured her, "It'll be a quiet Monday night."

"Oh, no… I'll finish my shift." AJ said, wrapping her cardigan around her tighter. She went from being extremely cold to burning up with a fever.

"Well there's no telling you." Jenna smiled as AJ nodded.

"I'm gonna clear up." AJ said, grabbing a tray and walking out from behind the counter towards the tables.

She picked up some coffee cups, sitting them onto her tray as she made her way around the shop, pausing when she saw a sliver box with a pink ribbon around it, left on one of the tables she had to clear.

"What the hell…" AJ sat her tray down, looking at the box as she noticed there was a sticky note on it which read her name.

She opened the box up, raising her eyebrows and immediately smiling as she saw what was inside, placing her hand on her heart. She pulled out the drawing rolled up, opening it up and smiling as she saw the drawing of what was her and Thea she assumed, under a ton of rainbows and sunshine's.

"Sweetheart." AJ smiled, pressing the picture against her heart as she looked on further into the box.

She sat the picture down and picked up all the different, helpful flu necessities. There were some more cold and flu medicine, a box of tissues, things to help for her blocked nose and sore throat. She also found a bar of chocolate hidden underneath and a sweet picture of her and Punk that he'd left, which had 'feel better, a hug is waiting' written on the back.

"What is all of that?" Jenna questioned, walking over.

"Phil must have dropped it off." AJ smiled to herself.

"Oh, you two make me sick." Jenna teased.

"It's sweet." AJ smiled.

The past few days had been a little difficult. After coming clean to Punk about what happened with Rio, it was hard to adjust to not having it as her secret anymore. That on top of catching a cold had really ran her down to the ground, but she was lucky that she had such an amazing little family that took care of her.

"What'd he get you?" Jenna asked, looking over.

"Things for my flu." AJ smiled, "And Thea drew me a picture."

"Oh, sweet." Jenna smiled, "He's a good one." She nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." AJ nodded.

* * *

"Here you go." Punk said, walking into their bedroom late that night with a cup of tea as AJ sat up in bed.

"Thanks, babe." AJ nodded tiredly, taking the tea from him. She was surrounded by tissues, medicine, nose sprays and bottles of water, "So maybe I shouldn't have gone out today." She realised, taking a sip of the tea as Punk sat on the bed beside her.

"Yeah, maybe not." Punk said.

"I had to do so much tomorrow." AJ sighed, "I had to go to college and hand in my essay. Then I had to go to the store. I needed to go into town and get… get…" She paused as she sneezed, grabbing a tissue from the box beside her as Punk frowned, "Get a new skirt for work." She said.

"Ok, I am capable of all of those things." Punk assured her.

"And I was getting my hair done." AJ said.

"Ok, I can't do that." Punk said, "But I can… I don't know, wash your hair for you later." He shrugged as AJ smiled a little.

"That's ok." AJ assured her, "You don't have to do anything, I'll just… I'll be fine."

"No way, April. You're staying in bed tomorrow. I'll take care of the essay and the store. And the skirt." He said as AJ nodded, "Just you stay here and rest."

"Ok." AJ nodded, "Ok. Well maybe you shouldn't sleep here tonight, what if I give you this?" She asked him.

"I'll be fine." He assured her as she smiled, "Do you need anything else?" He asked her.

"No, I'm ok." AJ nodded.

"Ok, I'm gonna go get Thea in the bath and off to bed. I left her downstairs watching Die Hard." He said.

"Are you serious?" AJ looked at him with tired eyes as Punk nodded.

"Hey, she picked it." Punk said as AJ rolled her eyes, "Are you too tired to yell at me right now?" He smiled.

"Yes." AJ nodded tiredly.

"Thought so." Punk said, "I'll go get her." He said as AJ nodded.

* * *

The next day, Punk woke up and left AJ sleeping. She had barely slept all night and there was no way she was going to work or college. He got showered and got Thea up, helping her get ready.

Before they left the house for their busy day, he left AJ a glass of orange juice in the fridge with a sweet note stuck to it. He also sat her cold and flu medicine on her night stand with another sweet message on it.

"You ready for this busy day?" Punk asked Thea, driving, looking at his daughter in the back seat through the mirror as she was sitting talking to her bear.

"Yes." Thea nodded. She was ready for anything.

"Ok, good." Punk nodded, "Because we're doing it all." He said as Thea smiled.

"I need the toilet." Thea realised.

"Didn't you go before we left?" Punk asked.

"Uhh… no." Thea said, she never did.

"Can you hold it?" Punk wondered as she shook her head worriedly.

"Daddy I don't want to pee myself!" She yelled worriedly, sitting up in her car seat whilst swinging her legs anxiously.

"Alright, ok." Punk said, "We'll stop." He nodded, pulling up at the first chance he got. He got her out of the car as she practically dragged him down the street, finding the first coffee shop and heading into it.

They bypassed the line and headed straight to the toilets where Thea quickly ran in ahead of him and banged the door shut behind her as he stood outside waiting.

"You good?" He knocked.

"Daddy there's no toilet paper." Thea called as Punk groaned, resting his head on the door.

"Ok, stay there." Punk told her, walking back into the main area of the coffee shop, picking up a few napkins and heading back to the toilets, opening up the door where Thea was sitting on the toilet swinging her legs back and forth, "Ok, here." He said, handing her over the napkins.

"Thanks, daddy." Thea hummed, finishing up her business and jumping down from the toilet, washing her hands at the sink. When she noticed there was no paper towels, she just reached up and used her father's t-shirt to dry her hands.

"Ok… now are we ready for this busy day?" Punk asked her.

"Yes." Thea nodded, taking his hand as they escaped the coffee shop and headed back to the car.

* * *

The first stop was AJ's college. Punk had brought her essays with him and headed on into the large building, finding the part where AJ studied. He'd been many times to pick her up or just to meet her for some lunch, so he was familiar.

"Is this school?" Thea asked him. Whilst one of her hands was holding Punk's, her other was holding Harold's bear hand. She was in her adorable little jorts with a rock and roll t-shirt and a skull hairband. Very obvious who had dressed her this morning.

"Yeah, well kinda." Punk said, "It's where you can go after school." He said.

"Oh." Thea nodded.

Punk knew where AJ's lecture class was and so headed there, knocking on the door before entering where he saw one of her lecturers over by his desk.

"Hi." Punk said a little awkwardly.

"Hello." The man looked over.

"I'm uh… I'm April Mendez's boyfriend." Punk explained, "She's really sick so I've came to drop by her essays." He said, extending them over.

"Oh, great." The man said, "That was good of you." He nodded as Punk smiled.

"She felt really bad about not making it in." He said.

"Tell her not to worry." The man smiled, sitting the essays over by a pile, "You must be Thea." He turned to Thea who got shy and backed up against Punk's leg, "Your mother writes about you all the time."

"She does?" Punk asked.

"Yeah." The man smiled, "And you too." He nodded, "She's very smart. Very talented." He said as Punk smiled. He beamed with pride whenever anyone had good things to say about his girlfriend or his daughter. He loved and cared for them so much that he always wanted the best for them.

"I see how hard she works at home." Punk nodded, "Dedicated that's for sure."

"She is." The man smiled, "Tell her I appreciate her sending you in to give me them." He nodded as Punk laughed a little and nodded.

"I will." Punk nodded.

* * *

"Which cereal do you want?" Punk asked Thea who was sitting in the shopping cart which he pushed around the store to get their groceries. There was a time in his life where he couldn't have even imagined going to the store and affording to buy more than one thing.

"Lucky charms." Thea pointed.

"Ok, but not just for the unicorn, right?" He asked.

"No." Thea rolled her eyes as he nodded, grabbing a box and putting it in the cart.

Their day had progressed on. They'd already been to the mall where Punk had to pick out a new skirt for AJ for work. They also grabbed lunch whilst they were at it, which took up some time since the world's slowest eater award went to Thea for sure.

"You want more bananas?" Punk asked her.

"Yes and strawberries." Thea said as Punk looked on at the strawberries.

"They're kinda expensive." He looked on. They had money, but they still didn't have a lot of it, "Which do you prefer? Bananas or strawberries?" Punk asked her as Thea looked on.

"Bananas." Thea said as Punk nodded.

"The correct choice." He hummed.

"Daddy I left Harold in the car." Thea realised as Punk looked at her.

"Well you'll see him when you get back." Punk said calmly, looking at the shelves.

"But I need him." Thea huffed.

"You don't need him." Punk hummed, "You'll see him when we're done." He said as Thea folded her arms, "How did you forget your baby anyway?"

"I don't know." Thea said, mad with herself, "He'll be alone." She said sadly.

"We won't be much longer in here. You'll see him soon." Punk assured her, taking her hair band out and fixing it back in her hair as she leaned her elbows on the cart handle.

"Look, the barbie dolls." Thea pointed, swinging her legs back and forth.

"They're nice." Punk nodded.

"I already have one." She said, "I don't need another one." She shrugged as Punk smiled. She had humble roots and she was very grateful, and even at such a young age.

"Maybe Santa will take notes." Punk nodded to her.

"He's here?" Thea looked around with wide eyes.

"No, but… well me and him talk." Punk said, going around the store, putting different things in the cart that they needed.

"You talk to Santa?" Thea asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded.

"What do you talk about?" She asked.

"You." Punk said, "If you're on the nice or the naughty list." He said as her mouth widened and she gasped.

"Tell him I'm on the nice list." She begged as Punk chuckled and nodded, "Does he know I have a new home?" She wondered.

"Oh, yeah. He'll know." Punk nodded as she smiled. It was amazing to see how her little brain thought, and being able to widen her imagination was so important to him. He wanted her to believe anything was possible, and that she could do anything she put her mind to.

* * *

They got home shortly after finishing up at the store. Punk got Thea settled with a movie in the living room whilst he put the groceries away.

He then headed upstairs, walking into the bedroom where AJ was still fast asleep in bed. He could see she had been downstairs for more water and medicine. He just wanted her to know he would always be there to take care of her.

He sat the skirt he'd picked up for her over in the dresser, looking over at her as she began to wake up a little.

"Oh, hi." She croaked with sleepy eyes.

"Hey, it's ok… go back to sleep." He soothed, walking around the bed and sitting down on the edge of the bed, "How you feeling?"

"Shitty." AJ admitted, running her hand over her hair.

Punk placed his hand over her forehead, "You've got a fever." He said as AJ nodded.

"I was freezing earlier." AJ said, "I'm hoping I just sweat it out." She said, "How was your day? Is my baby ok?"

"She's all good. We had a good day." He assured her, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Essay got handed in, your lecturer really appreciated it." He nodded, "He also cared to tell me that you write about us sometimes." He smiled a little as AJ nodded.

"Sometimes." AJ nodded.

"Good things I hope." He said.

"Yeah, always." She smiled sweetly.

"I picked up a skirt for you. Had a lunch date with my girl and then we got the groceries." He said as AJ smiled tiredly, "You go back to sleep." He said, cupping her cheek softly as she smiled, feeling him lean down and kiss her forehead. She was glad she had him to take care of her.


	57. Dropped

**Dropped**

* * *

"Happy birthday, sweetie. Sorry we're late." AJ shook her head, walking into the restaurant as she embraced Dean tightly who hugged her back.

"That's ok, more time for us to have a couple drinks." Dean assured her, kissing her head as AJ smiled.

"Happy birthday, Dee!" Thea yelled loudly that a few tables around them looked over.

"Shh, baby." AJ laughed a little, giving Renee a hug hello.

"Thanks, my angel." Dean said, picking Thea up and squeezing her tightly, "Where is Phil?"

"He was just parking the car." AJ said, putting her coat over the back of her seat at the round table, "It's so busy on the high street tonight." AJ said.

"We must have missed the traffic." Renee nodded to Dean, "How you feeling?" She asked.

"Better. Much better." AJ nodded. She had gotten past her flu she had for a few days. She had to spend a few days in bed, drinking tea, taking her medicine and sleeping it all off, but she was finally feeling back to her normal self again.

"Mommy's not sick anymore." Thea cheered as AJ helped her out of her jacket.

"So what took you guys so long?" Dean asked.

"Someone had an outfit change last minute." AJ nodded as Thea looked up at her, knowing fine well her mother was talking about her.

"Mommy, don't talk about me I'm right here." Thea scoffed, folding her arms as AJ nodded.

"I know, I'm just saying that you changed your outfit, even though the first one was great." AJ said.

"It was itching me." Thea said as AJ pushed her chair in closer to the table just as Punk arrived, walking through the restaurant and finding them.

"You made it." Dean chuckled.

"Yeah, sorry man." Punk shook his head, "Happy birthday." He said, embracing his brother tightly before leaning over and giving Renee a hug, "Someone had an outfit change." He said as Thea looked over at him.

"We heard." Dean chuckled a little.

"I'm sure when we have kids we'll understand." Renee smiled as Dean smiled nervously, "See how nervous he gets." She pointed as Punk chuckled, sitting down at the table beside Thea and Dean.

"I'm not nervous." Dean scoffed, "If these two goons can do it at nineteen, I can do it any time." Dean nodded as Punk and AJ smiled.

"I've never been to this place before." AJ said, picking up a menu and looking at everything on it, "I am so hungry." She shook her head whilst Punk showed Thea the kid's menu, telling her what was on it as she listened.

"I don't want any of that." Thea told him.

"Well you gotta pick something." Punk told her.

"We came here for Dean's birthday last year." Renee nodded, "It was super nice. Amazing burgers."

"Oh, I could eat a burger right now." AJ thought to herself, "Baby, what you having?" She asked Thea.

"Nothing apparently." Punk nodded.

"Babe, you gotta pick something." AJ said, taking the kid's menu from Punk, "Look, they got spaghetti. You like that." She said as Thea leaned back on the chair, folding her arms, "Hotdog… Pizza… you like all of this." She pointed out.

"No, I don't." Thea challenged as AJ looked at her. There were times where she did see a lot of her stubborn self in Thea. She was very blunt and harsh at times, even for a three year old, which was difficult for them as parents.

"Can I get you some drinks?" A waiter approached the table after seeing AJ and Punk arrive.

"Uh yeah, can I just get a water please." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do the same." Punk said, turning to Thea, "What do you want to drink?" He asked her.

"I don't know." Thea shrugged.

"You got fruit shoots?" Punk asked the waiter who nodded.

"No, not a fruit shoot." Thea shook her head as the waiter paused his pen on the notepad.

"You want water?" AJ asked her as Thea shook her head.

"Sprite." Thea grinned. She knew fine well she wasn't allowed soda all the time, but she was testing the waters to see if she could get away with it.

"You're not…" AJ paused as she saw Punk just shrugging, "Ok, but just this once since it's Dee's birthday." She said as Thea smirked and nodded as the waiter smiled a little and left to go get the drinks.

* * *

The food they ordered eventually came. Thea was too distracted by the colouring book she had been given by the waiter. She let her mother cut up her pizza for her but didn't really pay much attention to it.

"You not eating your pizza?" Punk asked her as Thea shook her head, "Why not?"

"It's too burny." Thea told him, colouring in some pictures.

"Blow on it." Punk said.

"What do you have?" Thea looked on at her father's food.

"A burger." Punk said.

"Can I have some?" Thea asked him as Punk looked at her.

"Why do you always do this to me?" Punk asked childishly whilst Dean looked over and chuckled a little. AJ was in conversation with Renee, too busy to notice.

"It looks nice." Thea shrugged.

"Then I get some of your pizza." Punk said.

"Fine." Thea said, watching Punk cut his burger, passing it onto her plate as he took some of her pizza.

"Hey, that looks like a fair trade." Dean nodded to Punk.

"I swear she does it to be evil." Punk whispered as Dean chuckled.

"Yeah, sure… that kid is pure evil." Dean said, looking across at Thea who was happily eating the burger, "You hear about the opportunity to work on the docks?" He asked.

"No, what you talking about?" Punk shook his head.

"Down at the docks. They're building a whole new part to it and Kofi was trying to get us hooked on it. Tons of extra cash." Dean nodded.

"Really? How much extra?" Punk asked him curiously.

"Enough to know I can start looking at houses." Dean said as Punk raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" Punk said, "That much?"

"Yeah, it's good money." Dean nodded.

Punk hadn't told anyone about what had happened with AJ and Rio. Not even Dean. He knew it was not his place to tell, and so he was keeping it close to his chest. It was hard keeping his anger at bay. He still had bursts of rage where he wished he could just set out and find Rio, but AJ didn't want that, and of course he knew why. They were just trying to move on now.

"Are you two sharing your dinner?" AJ laughed a little, noticing Punk and Thea had some of each other's dinner.

"Apparently, yeah." Punk nodded as AJ smiled sweetly. Looking at her smile, he wanted her to be happy forever. Knowing what that man had tried to do to her broke his heart for her. He just wanted to be there for her, as much as he could. He always would be.

"How is the pizza?" AJ asked.

"You'd like it." Punk said, passing her over a slice.

Things like going out for dinner at a nice restaurant used to be things they never dreamed of doing. They used to walk by the nice restaurants when they were on the streets, not even fathoming that one day they'd be able to eat in one. It was always nice to be reminded of how far they'd come, even through all the hardship and suffering.

"Are we having desert?" Thea questioned, picking the salad off of the burger.

"You're nowhere near finished dinner." AJ laughed a little, brushing her hand over Thea's hair.

"Oh my God." Punk groaned a little, putting his fork down.

"What?" AJ shook her head as Dean and Renee looked over.

"My mom is over there." Punk said, having noticed his mother sitting at a table not far away from them. Dean immediately looked over, spotting his mother whilst AJ turned around.

"Is she on a date?" Renee noticed as Dean rolled his eyes.

"He's probably paying her to go out." Dean shook his head whilst AJ looked over, turning back around and looking over to Punk.

"It's fine." Punk assured them all, "Just… leave her be." He said.

* * *

They finished up dinner, giving Dean his gift and also ordering desert. Thea had made her way onto AJ's lap, getting sleepy and ready for bed. Dean and Renee were heading to another bar for drinks so they left first whilst Punk got the cheque.

"She's falling asleep." AJ told him, feeling Thea falling asleep against her.

"I'll wait for the cheque, you take her to the car." Punk said, giving her the keys as she nodded, getting up and carrying Thea out of the restaurant whilst Punk waited.

He looked over where his mother was still sitting with a man similar to her age. She'd pounded back a lot of glasses of wine, and was getting progressively louder as time passed by. Her back was to them so she hadn't noticed them the entire night.

He paid the cheque, hesitantly looking over to his mother. He really hadn't had a decent conversation with her before. She was always too drunk or he was always too bitter, but he figured he had to show some decency, because her being there for AJ meant something to him. It was the only motherly thing she'd ever done for him.

He got up from the table and walked over, coughing a little as he stood beside her, watching her turn around and look up with raised brows.

"Phil." Sam sat up, fixing her dress and looking up at him, "What are you doing here?" She shook her head.

"Uh… we were out for dinner. For Dean's birthday. Sat over there." He pointed as Sam nodded, "Could I talk to you for a quick second?" He asked.

"You want to talk to me?" Sam asked as Punk nodded, "Uh… sure. Excuse me." She nodded to her friend, standing up from the table and following him down the restaurant towards the bar area which was less busier.

"I just wanted to thank you for being there for April." Punk said as Sam looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"A few years ago when I was in prison. And you saw her in the café." He said as Sam realised and nodded.

"Oh, right." Sam nodded, "Yeah, she was… she was really upset." Sam said as Punk nodded.

"I know, and… I'm glad she could talk to someone, she shouldn't have been alone that night after…" He paused, "Just… thanks, is all I'm trying to say." He said as she smiled a little and nodded, her smile fading a little.

"Something happened to her." Sam nodded, "I could tell."

"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Yeah, something happened but… she's doing good." Punk said, "We're doing good."

"I'm glad." Sam nodded.

"Are you on a date?" He questioned.

"Oh… no, he's just a friend." Sam said, "How is Dean?"

"We don't need to get into this. I… all I wanted to say was thanks for that night." He said, "That's it."

"Oh… ok." Sam nodded, "Sure." She said.

"I better get going." He said, walking on by her and leaving the restaurant as she watched and sighed, running her hand through her hair.

* * *

"You got her?" AJ asked Punk after they pulled up outside the house, watching as he lifted Thea out of the car. She'd fallen asleep on the way home.

"Yeah, got her." Punk nodded, holding her close, not noticing she had dropped her teddy bear, Harold, walking towards the house with AJ.

"Tonight was nice." AJ said, "Nice to get out and do something. Especially after being stuck in bed for a few days."

"Yeah, it was." Punk smiled, "You know Dean told me that I could be getting onto a job with more money?" He nodded to her.

"Oh, really?" AJ smiled, unlocking the door and opening it up as they walked on in.

"Yeah. A lot more money apparently." He said, "Down at the docks." He nodded.

"How do you feel about that?" She asked, sitting the keys down.

"How do you think I feel? More cash means less stress, right?" He said.

"I guess it does." AJ smiled, "Hey, what did you say to your mom?" She asked, having bitten her tongue for as long as she could.

"I just thanked her." Punk said, "Thanked her for being there for you that night, when you really needed someone." He nodded, "That was it."

"I bet she didn't expect that from you." AJ said.

"Well that's all I wanted to say to her." Punk said.

"That was nice of you." AJ said, "You go put her down and I'll be up in a minute." She said, leaning up and kissing his lips softly. He smiled once she pulled away and nodded, walking on upstairs with Thea as AJ smiled to herself. Things felt like they were getting easier again.

Meanwhile outside, Rio walked down the pavement with his hood up, standing outside the house and watching as AJ closed the living room drapes.

He then turned and noticed the teddy bear over by the car, walking on over and crouching down, picking it up and looking at it.

"Yeah, you'll be wanting this back." He chuckled to himself, standing up and looking back at the house before walking away holding the teddy bear.


	58. Getting Him Back

**Get Him Back**

* * *

"Phil, she won't stop crying." AJ said, walking out of Thea's bedroom the next morning.

"I'm already half an hour late for work. I've looked everywhere." Punk said.

"She's not gonna go to playgroup without the bear." AJ made clear, "And you know she won't." She said.

It had been a very stressful morning. Thea realised immediately that Harold, her beloved teddy bear, was not with her when she woke up. Punk had searched high and low for him but the bear wasn't in the house, nor was he in the car which he checked… twice.

"She must have left it at the restaurant so I'll need to go on my way home." Punk said.

"I'm sure she had him when we left the restaurant." AJ shook her head, "She had him in the car. Oh, maybe she dropped him outside the restaurant where we were parked." She said.

"Maybe, but I have to go to work right now." He said, "And you gotta go to college." He said as she nodded.

"I know." AJ said, "You're gonna need to talk to her. Convince her to go to playgroup and when you come home from work you'll pick up Harold." She nodded.

"This is our life." Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." AJ said, "Go, before she floods herself in there." She shoved him as Punk nodded, walking into the bedroom where Thea was sitting on her bed crying. It was a heartbreaking sight. He knew she was just a little kid, and her teddy really meant the world to him, to see her cry was one of the worst things in the world.

"Hey, you." Punk sighed, walking over and crouching down in front of her, "Hey, come on." He cupped her cheek, drying her tears away, "It's gonna be fine."

"Daddy he's missing!" Thea said dramatically as Punk nodded.

"I know but we'll find him." Punk said, "He'll be somewhere and you'll get him back. I'll make sure of it." He nodded, "You gotta be brave." He nodded as she frowned and sighed. He could see how stressed she was about this.

"But where is he?" Thea asked, rubbing her eyes which were tired from crying.

"Maybe he'll be at the restaurant we were at last night. Daddy's gonna go on his way home from work and have a look and he'll probably be there." Punk nodded, "And I'll bring him straight to you." He said, "But for now you gotta go to playgroup whilst mommy and daddy go to work." He nodded as she sighed with stress, rubbing her eyes.

"But I miss him." Thea cried.

"I know… I know you do, baby." Punk nodded, "But we'll get him back."

"What if he's in a puddle?" Thea questioned.

"Then we'll put him in the washing machine." Punk assured her, "And he'll be good as new." He said as Thea sighed, "I'll get him back, ok?" He nodded.

"Ok." Thea nodded, trusting her father.

"Ok." Punk said, drying her tears on her cheeks and leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "Let's get you downstairs." He said as she took his hand and left the bedroom with him.

* * *

Later that night, once Punk was finished his shift, he drove back to the restaurant they were at last night. He headed on in and asked the waitering staff if a teddy bear matching the description was left at the table. Unfortunately, it wasn't and so he took off outside to where he had parked his car last night.

He looked around the car park, groaning to himself as he couldn't see anything. He couldn't imagine why anyone would pick up the bear if they saw it. He really prayed for his daughter's sake that he was around somewhere.

He continued looking around the spaces when suddenly he heard footsteps coming towards him, sensing someone was close behind him as he turned around.

"Looking for something?" Rio smiled, holding the bear in his hands as Punk looked on.

He hadn't seen Rio since before AJ had told him everything that happened. He couldn't look at the man the same way anymore. This wasn't his friend, this wasn't someone who helped him out… this was someone who attacked his girlfriend, who turned his life upside down.

"Now now." Rio put his hand up, "It's just a bear. Don't get too emotional." He warned.

"Why do you have that?" Punk spat.

"You look mad at me." Rio noticed. He could see that the vibe he was getting from Punk wasn't how it was before. It was angry, filled with hatred.

"Give me the bear and walk away." Punk said. He promised AJ he wouldn't touch him, he wouldn't lose his cool, so he was trying hard to do the right thing.

"What the hell is up with you?" Rio chuckled, "Look, I came around to the house last night to talk, try and convince you both to come to my wedding, I saw the bear and I picked it up, figuring it was too late to knock on your door." He lied to paint a picture.

"You should have left it." Punk spat, "Give me it."

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Rio wondered, stepping closer to Punk who he could see was getting angrier, "Huh?" He asked as Punk suddenly grabbed him, pushing him up against the nearest car.

"You know what you did." Punk spat.

"Hey, man… what the hell?" Rio questioned with legit confusion, "You wanna enlighten me?" He laughed.

"April." Punk spat as Rio looked at him, "You tried to rape her." He hissed, his grip tightening around Rio who looked at him with a small smile.

"Rape is a little bit strong for an innocent kiss." Rio chuckled as Punk grabbed his neck tighter, this time not letting him get a chance to talk, or breathe very much either.

"She said no, that means you stop!" Punk yelled, "And you didn't. She was supposed to be your friend. You were supposed to be my friend." He spat, banging Rio's head against the car. This was him restraining himself. He wanted to do a whole lot more damage.

"She ratted me out." Rio said as Punk loosened his grip a little to hear what he was saying, "She ratted us out." He spat, "It was a kiss." He hissed, "Don't you think if I wanted her I couldn't have got her?" He laughed as Punk grabbed him tighter again and inched his face closer to his.

"She ratted you out because she saw the writing on the wall before I could. And I don't blame her for any of that." Punk spat, "You can be mad at her, that's expected, but you don't get to put your hands on her." He made clear. He'd never been this angry, getting it all out yet having to hold himself back because of his promise he made. It was incredibly hard.

"Well I did… and trust me, if she did sleep with me, she wouldn't have found her way back to you." Rio chuckled as Punk punched him hard across the face as he fell over onto the wet ground, rolling over as he held the teddy bear.

"You're gonna give me that bear and then get out of my life." Punk made clear as Rio held his bloody nose, looking up at Punk as he grabbed the bear, pulling its head off and throwing it into a puddle.

"See how the little brat likes that." Rio chuckled as Punk saw red, launching himself onto Rio, laying punch after punch onto him as they rolled around in the car park filled with pot holes.

It was a fist fight, one which involved two people who were raised on the streets. It wasn't pretty at all.

Rio eventually escaped out of Punk's grips, having been dominated for most of the fight, crawling away and limping to his feet as Punk watched him running off to his car, bloody and beaten as was he.

Punk sat on the ground, feeling the blood running down his nose as the rain began to come on. He looked over to the teddy bear, which was now in two parts, running his hands through his wet hair and shaking his head.

He got to his feet, limping over to the bear in the puddle, picking the head and the body up before walking back to his car.

He drove away and stopped in at a 24/7 tool shop, walking in with his face still gushing with blood, dirt also covered over it from rolling around on the ground.

"You uh… you got a sewing kit?" Punk asked, holding the bear in his arms, the head and the body.

The woman behind the counter looked on in horror at his face, not knowing what to say or do, frankly quite scared.

"Uh…" The woman stared.

"Do you have a sewing kit?" Punk repeated himself a little angrier as the woman nodded, grabbing a small kit behind her and handing it to him as Punk sat the money down and limped back to his car.

He turned on the car light above him, opening up the sewing kit and sitting the bear on his lap. His hands were bloody and dirty, which was evidently getting onto his sweet daughter's bear.

He didn't have a clue what he was doing, he pricked himself so many times with the needle, not that any more blood made a difference. But after perseverance, determination to fix his daughter's favourite cuddly toy, he managed to figure out what he was doing, sewing the bear's head on carefully, having to pause to wipe his bloody nose every so often.

* * *

When Punk got home, he checked his phone and saw he had so many missed calls from AJ. He knew it was too late for Thea to still be up, which meant he'd not only broken one promise today, but two.

He walked in the door slowly, knowing he was going to face AJ's wrath as soon as she laid eyes on him. He limped his way down to the kitchen, opening up the washing machine and sitting Thea's teddy bear in, turning it on and sighing to himself with relief.

He then turned to the door, looking down the hallway where AJ was standing staring at him.

"Where the hell were you?" AJ asked him, walking into the kitchen as he took a seat at the table.

"Getting Thea's bear." Punk nodded.

"Phil, what the hell happened to you?" AJ questioned, staring at his beaten face, "Did you get jumped on the street or something?" She sighed.

"No." Punk rolled his eyes, "Rio had the bear." He said as AJ looked at him, "He came around last night and picked it up. Thea must have dropped it when I lifted her out of the car." He said, "He showed up at the car park from last night and… talked some shit, ripped the bear's head off…" He nodded.

"What?" AJ shook her head.

"It's fine, I sewed it back on." Punk nodded, "Pretty well actually." He thought to himself.

"You… you promised you wouldn't fight him." AJ said. She had instant flashbacks to when she had to clean his face up back in their old apartment many years ago, when things started to get out of control. This scared her like it scared her back then. Especially because they were now on Rio's bad side.

"Yeah well he deserved it." Punk said, "I also promised Thea I would bring Harold back to her by tonight, before she was in bed, and I didn't so… terrible father, terrible boyfriend, I get it." Punk nodded to himself as AJ looked at him.

"You are not a terrible father." AJ shook her head at the ridiculousness, "Or boyfriend." She said as he looked up at her. She took a deep breath and reached for the first aid kit, pulling a chair out and sitting in front of him as he looked across at her.

"I can clean myself up if you wanna just-" He paused as she began wiping his face, shaking her head.

"I got it." AJ assured him.

"I'm sorry." Punk said. He did promise her he wouldn't fight with Rio, but could he not after hearing him say what he said, how could he stand there and listen to the woman he loved being disrespected. On some level, AJ could understand.

"It's ok." AJ said softly, realising that he was only protecting her, fighting for her.

"It's not ok. None of this shit is ok." Punk shook his head as AJ wiped under his nose, having to open up another wipe after the other one getting so covered in blood.

"It's not." AJ said, "It's pretty clear that we are not his friend anymore." She nodded, "He's either gonna leave us alone or make our life a living hell."

"I think I know which one he'll pick." Punk said, "Said he was coming around last night to ask us one more time to come to the wedding." He said as AJ paused, looking across at him.

"What'd he say about me?" AJ asked him.

"What?" Punk asked.

"Tonight. What did he say to you?" AJ asked, wanting to know.

"That doesn't matter, just-"

"Tell me." AJ said as Punk looked across at her.

"Said it was just a kiss. Said that calling it rape was a little strong. Said if he wanted you, he could have got you." He took a deep breath, "Said if he did… if he got with you then you'd never have went back to me." He nodded, "Called Thea a brat too." He said as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"Let's go to the wedding." AJ said calmly as Punk looked at her.

"What?" Punk shook his head, watching as she stood up, closing over the first aid kit with a bang and turning around.

"You don't call my kid a brat." She hissed angrily, walking out of the kitchen with fire and fierceness in her steps.


	59. Enough Is Enough

**Enough Is Enough**

* * *

"You're not serious about going to the wedding, are you?" Punk questioned, following AJ through to the living room where she'd fiercely stopped off to.

"Yeah." AJ nodded, "Yeah, I am." She said as he looked at her with confusion, "What? Well he wants to talk. Let him talk." AJ said.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Punk questioned, "After what he did to you? I mean I… I don't wanna see his face again. Ever." He said.

"Yeah and neither do I but if he has something to say then I'm all ears." AJ spat, "Plus, there will be a ton of people there so he isn't gonna start shit with us. Maybe I go and I give him a piece of my mind. It's the perfect opportunity." She nodded.

"I think that's a terrible idea." Punk said, "You're just angry right now. I am too. The guy is a piece of shit. We only didn't see it because he used to supply us with money and keep us off the streets." He said, "I mean think about it… what he did to you, what if you're not the only one?" Punk questioned as AJ looked over at him, "He's a bad guy who we just happened to be on his good side for a long time." He said.

"Yeah and I know that but… if he wants to tell me that it was just a kiss, I'd like the chance to defend myself." She spat, "Because it was not just a kiss. It wasn't just him hitting on me. He… He pushed me down on the couch. He was on top of me." She exclaimed.

"I know." Punk sighed, "I know." He nodded as she took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair.

Having gone through something, having been attacked in that way, sexually, it was incredibly scarring, and for that person to turn around and say it was just a kiss… she didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry.

"I want to go." AJ said as Punk looked at her.

"Why? To get heated? Slap him? Get kicked out of the party?" Punk asked, "He ain't worth it, April. I didn't set out tonight looking to fight him. Even when I saw him I tried not to fight with him, because I knew you didn't want that." He said, "But I couldn't listen to him any longer."

"I don't blame you." AJ understood, "I want to go to this wedding and I want to confront him."

"You do?" Punk asked her as AJ nodded.

"Yes." AJ said as Punk looked across at her.

"You're not just saying it because you're angry right now?" He asked as AJ shook her head.

"No, I wanna go. I wanna show my face. Show that I'm not just gonna sit and let him talk about me like that. Call my daughter names." She said, "He doesn't get the last laugh." She said with stress.

She was torn between falling apart and standing strong. She didn't want to hide in the shadows and stay mute. To her, that felt like she was letting him win, and she hated that. Hearing his denial about what he did to her had really gotten to her, understandably.

"Mommy." Thea wandered into the living room, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She was so small, they never heard her coming down the stairs.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" AJ crouched down in front of her, brushing her hair out of her face. She was in pink pyjamas which read 'I wake up awesome' with donuts on the bottoms.

"Can't sleep." Thea huffed, looking over at Punk, "Hi, daddy." She said softly as Punk smiled. He was a little scared of her noticing his face beaten up. After cleaning up the blood, it actually didn't look as bad which he was thankful about.

"Hi, baby." Punk smiled, "I have something for you." He said, extending his hand out as Thea took it and walked with him through to the kitchen.

"What is it?" Thea asked sweetly as Punk crouched down at the washing machine, turning it off and opening it up as he brought out her favourite bear, watching as she gasped in awe, "Harold." Thea smiled with joy, taking the wet bear from her father, not caring that he was soaking wet and giving him a huge hug.

"He's just taking a spin in the washing machine, and he'll be as good as new." He said as Thea smiled so happily, hugging into the bear and closing her eyes tight as Punk smiled. It was the best sight to see after the day he'd had.

"Daddy you're the best daddy." Thea said, so happy that her father had rescued her bear. She turned into her father, giving him a sweet hug as Punk smiled, holding onto that hug as it meant so much.

Meanwhile AJ had come into the kitchen, smiling as she saw Thea hugging Punk, so glad she had her beloved bear back. It was a sweet sight. Not that she even needed the proof, but seeing her boyfriend do whatever it took to keep their baby girl happy really proved the type of father he was.

"He's gonna finish up in the wash and then we'll get him to dry. He'll be back to normal in the morning when you wake up." Punk told her as Thea smiled and nodded.

"Ok." Thea said, giving her bear a kiss before putting him back in the wash machine which Punk closed over.

"Can I just watch him for a little while?" Thea asked as Punk nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course you can." Punk said, kissing her cheek as Thea watched her teddy bear spinning around in the wash machine. He looked up at AJ who nodded to him, wondering away back into the living room as Punk followed her.

"I'd say you're in her good books." AJ nodded.

"She's mad happy." Punk smiled as AJ nodded.

"I want to go to this wedding." AJ made clear.

"Don't you think you might wake up and feel differently? You're mad right now, and rightly so-"

"I'm always gonna be mad about this." AJ said, "The fact he doesn't have any regard to what he did to me… and you're right, what if there is other women that he's hurt?" She questioned, "I mean it's happening every day to women. It happens at home, at their work, on the streets, girls in school…" She ran her hands through her hair, "And if everyone does what I'm doing… sitting in silence… then those bastards get away with it." She said as Punk looked across at her. She was a strong woman. He always knew she was, but this further proved just how strong she really was.

"I'll go with you if it's what you want." Punk nodded, "I just want you to be really sure." He said. He didn't want her to be saying this in the heat of the moment, only for her to regret it.

"I am." AJ said, "I know the cops aren't gonna help me out, but I can help me out." She vowed, "I have a daughter and… and I want her to know that men can't get away with shit like that." She said, "I wanna sit her down when she's eighteen, and tell her about the time mom went and gave that guy who attacked her, a piece of her mind." She said as Punk nodded.

"I am so in love with you." Punk said. It was the only thing on his mind, the only thing he felt he could say as AJ smiled.

"I know you'd stop me if I was being ridiculous." She said, "But I think this is important for me."

"I think it is too." Punk said, "I just want you to be safe."

"Well maybe we also get Dean to come. People just have to look at him and they get scared." She said as Punk nodded, "I know it sounds dumb. And I am… I'm scared. But… I need to do this."

"I just don't want you to feel like it's out of your control." Punk said, "Or like it's gonna have consequences."

"Do you think it will?" AJ asked him.

"I know that you getting in his face and going off on him… well he's not gonna like it." Punk said.

"Yeah and I didn't like being pushed down on a couch and touched against my will." AJ said as Punk nodded, looking across at her, "It's gotta end." She said as he nodded along with her.

"I'm with you. One hundred percent." Punk nodded.

"In ten years I don't wanna look back on this and wish I said something instead of biting my tongue and letting him win. I know he might not give a shit about what I have to say but I do, and I need to do this for me." She said.

After hearing the things that Rio had said to Punk, things like saying it was 'just a kiss' just set her off into a frenzy. She didn't want to be silenced into her own nightmare. And at the back of her mind, raising a daughter really made her want to set an example.

"I'll be there with you. I just don't want this to go wrong. I don't want any shit to go down… not when Hamilton is lurking around… cause we both know he'll be surveying the wedding from the outside." Punk said.

"Nothing is gonna go down." AJ said, "We know Rio, he's not gonna start when there's a ton of people around." She said, "I'll say what I have to say and then we can leave."

"Ok." Punk nodded, "I'll let Dean know. And see if Renee can keep an eye on Thea for a couple hours."

"Yeah." AJ nodded, running her hand through her hair, "You know what I'm gonna do?" She said as he looked at her, "I'm gonna use that poor little girl that I hate looking back on, that little bitch who always got into trouble… she's gonna come back out." She warned.

"I think she already is." Punk smiled a little as AJ took a deep breath, "It's gonna be fine." He nodded. He could see she was fired up with her anger and he could understand why. He knew what type of person she was. Fiery, strong and outspoken. And he'd saw what Rio's attack had done to her. Watching her want to fight back was empowering.

"Please tell me if I'm being crazy." AJ said, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"What? You're always crazy." He teased as she scoffed and looked up at him.

"Seriously." AJ said with a nod, "Call me out if I'm being stupid-"

"Stupid for being upset over what he did to you? Stupid for wanting to stand up to him after what he did? No way." Punk said as she nodded, resting her head against his chest, "I'm with you all the way." He said as she nodded.

It was all their relationship ever was. Being there for each other through the hardest times.

"We should get to bed. Get Thea to bed." AJ realised their daughter was still in the kitchen.

"Yeah, good idea." Punk nodded, walking out of the living room with her as they both stopped at the kitchen door, looking on with smiles as they saw Thea sitting on the floor in front of the washing machine, watching her teddy bear spinning around closely.

AJ smiled, leaning her head on Punk's arm as they watched her, so happy as she watched her teddy get cleaner and cleaner.


	60. Wedding

**Wedding**

* * *

"_Today is the day." Punk nodded positively, sitting down on the living room floor in their small apartment, "You're gonna do it, I know it." He said, folding his legs in a basket as he looked on at Thea, several months old, lying on her stomach on her little mat._

_They'd been trying to get her to crawl for a few weeks. She enjoyed lying on her tummy, keeping her strong little head up and pulling herself around, and recently she had been trying to get her knees up to crawl. It was pretty much the first big milestone and Punk really didn't want to miss it._

"_What are you saying?" AJ walked into the living room after getting home from work. _

"_I think she's definitely gonna crawl today." Punk nodded positively as AJ smiled a little._

"_You've been saying that for a long time now." AJ said._

"_I know but I can see it in her eyes." Punk said as AJ laughed a little, "She knows what she's gotta do." He nodded as AJ smiled, messing with Punk's blonde hair._

_After dating and rekindling things, he had moved back into the apartment as it was easier for them and it meant he could see Thea a lot more. Things were very simple. They didn't have much money, just enough to cover rent and groceries. They shared a room with their daughter and any excess money they had went to her. They were planning on saving for a house, but the thought of it seemed so far away…_

"_Do you mind if I go shower?" AJ asked him, "The shop was crazy at closing tonight."_

"_No, go ahead." Punk nodded as she smiled, leaning down and giving him an upside down kiss before leaving the living room._

_Punk lay on his stomach in front of Thea, watching her as she lay looking around, trying to pull herself forward as he smiled. It was fascinating watching her growing. He counted himself lucky he was here to see everything, and also be able to reconnect with his girlfriend._

"_Come on." Punk nodded, "You know you wanna do it." He said, taking her little hand as Thea babbled loudly, "Yeah, I know." Punk nodded along with her, "You wanna crawl. I get it." He said, "I'll be honest with you, I don't wanna miss this… I don't wanna miss anything." He said, watching her._

_AJ was about to walk back into the living room, but paused when she saw Punk lying on the floor talking to Thea, smiling as she leaned against the door frame._

"_So you can't start crawling for the first time when daddy's at work. And that… that goes for walking and talking too. I wanna see all that. It's important." He nodded, "I mean look at you, you're so tiny and little and… soon you're gonna walk, and then you're gonna talk to me." He said, playing with her little hand._

_AJ smiled to herself as she watched, not wanting to leave, forgetting what she even came back to the living room for._

"_I guess you'll just do it when you're ready." Punk nodded, watching her as she tried to shift herself forward, moving up on her knees as Punk sat up, "Yes… yes, ok." Punk nodded._

"_Oh my God." AJ walked into the living room._

"_Look." Punk tapped her leg repeatedly, "Look, look…" He said excitedly, watching as Thea began to crawl towards one of her stuffed toys, "She's doing it." He stood up, "She's crawling." He pointed as AJ placed her hands over her mouth._

"_Oh my God." AJ squealed._

"_Look at her, she's… she's actually moving on her own." He said with excitement as AJ smiled, taking his hand and watching as their baby girl crawled for the first time._

_It was such a special moment that neither could have imagined seeing on their own. The best part about raising their baby was that they were doing it together, and these moments couldn't be replaced by anything._

* * *

"So many women in here that I have slept with and never called back." Dean groaned, walking into the wedding party with Punk and AJ. It was almost like a reunion from their days on the streets.

"We're not staying long, don't worry." AJ promised him, looking around.

Renee was looking after Thea for the night whilst they had gone to the wedding. AJ didn't have second thoughts. She wanted this. She wanted to speak to Rio. Punk still had bruises and cuts from the fight he and Rio had, but it wasn't like he stuck out in the room.

"Where's he at?" Punk said, looking around. It was a huge party as suspected. The music was loud and it was swarming with people.

"I need a drink, man." Dean said with agitation.

"You ok?" Punk asked AJ who nodded. He was worried that she would regret coming, that it would be too much for her like she said, but he could see the fight in her eyes. She wasn't going to back down.

"Yeah, I'm fine." AJ nodded, looking around, "I'm uh… I'm gonna go to the bathroom." She said as Punk looked at her.

"April-"

"I'm serious." AJ assured him, "I'm just going to the bathroom. Why don't you two go sit down." She suggested as Punk nodded.

"Ok." Punk said, "You're really going to the bathroom?" He asked.

"Yes and I might not make it if you keep asking questions." She shoo'd him away as Punk scoffed, watching her wander away as he turned to Dean.

"Let's go take a seat." Punk nodded to Dean.

"Where is she off to?" Dean questioned, wandering over to a free table.

"The bathroom." Punk said, "I think." He said suspiciously, "I don't know, she's so heated, man. I ain't seen her like this since Freddie Thompson tripped her up in high school." He said as Dean chuckled, "No, but I'm serious." He said, joking aside, "She's mad."

"Maybe she's allowed to be." Dean nodded.

They hadn't told Dean about what Rio had done to AJ, but he knew about Punk's fight with Rio and assumed AJ was just heated about that.

"Yeah, she definitely is." Punk nodded, "I'm just worried about her." He admitted.

"She can handle herself. You know that." Dean said.

"Yeah that's what I'm worried about." Punk nodded to himself.

Meanwhile AJ had gone to the bathroom. She went into a cubicle, taking a few deep breaths to herself. It was harder than she thought going into a room full of people she saw when life was at her hardest. Extremely hard. But she wasn't here for any of that. She was here to speak her mind, and stand up for herself.

She left the cubicle and walked out over to the sinks where she saw a woman, in a very short dress, standing over by the far off sink, leaning down to it as AJ rolled her eyes, realising what she was doing, what she was sniffing.

She shook her head and washed her hands, watching as the woman looked up and turned around to her.

"April Mendez?" She questioned as AJ looked across at her, getting a better look at her face and realising it was a familiar face from her younger days, a friend of Rio's, Anitta.

"Oh, hey." AJ said casually.

"God, I haven't saw you since you were a teen." Anitta said, "You look great." She said, looking AJ up and down, "And you've kept that ass… good for you." She nodded as AJ laughed a little.

"That's good to know." AJ said.

"Last I heard you were pregnant, and Phil was in prison." Anitta nodded, folding her arms.

"Yeah well… he's out." AJ nodded, "And I'm not pregnant anymore, obviously."

"You have the baby?" Anitta questioned.

"Yeah, I had her. She's three." AJ nodded, "We've not long moved into a house, actually." AJ nodded.

"A house?" Anitta questioned, "My my, how did you get your legs around?" Anitta asked curiously.

"What?" AJ shook her head, "Me and Phil got a house." She said, to clarify.

"Oh… oh." Anitta nodded, "Not something I thought I'd hear." Anitta said, "How is Phil?" She smirked, "Cute as a button that boy." She nodded.

"He's fine." AJ nodded, watching her take a cigarette from her purse and light up, "I don't think you can do that in here." She laughed a little.

"Who are you? The toilet police?" Anitta laughed, "Oh, it's so good to see you. So good to see old faces." She nodded, "I mean, do you remember the good times we had?" She questioned.

"I do remember. Do you?" AJ laughed a little, knowing fine well she probably couldn't remember much.

"Of course I do." Anitta nodded, "I gotta say, when I heard you were pregnant, and Phil was in prison… I was worried about you."

"Really?" AJ asked, "Cause… you never called or showed up at my place." AJ said calmly.

"Well we all have our own problems." Anitta nodded, "But look at you now. Where are you working?" She asked.

"Just a coffee shop but I'm at college too." AJ said.

"College?" Anitta raised her eyebrows, "Oh, wow… not just a nice ass." She said as AJ nodded, "Did you bring Dean with you?"

"Yeah, he's here." AJ nodded, "So is Phil."

"You know I thought you had a falling out with Rio." Anitta nodded.

"We did." AJ said, "Just moved on, I guess." AJ said briefly as Anitta nodded, "I should probably get back to Phil."

"Oh, of course." Anitta smiled, "Is the little one with you too?" She asked, "I'd love to meet her."

"She's not. She's with Dean's wife." AJ said as Anitta raised her eyebrows.

"Wife?" Anitta questioned, "Dean? Lord, what happened to you people?" Anitta chuckled.

Meanwhile, Punk was sat with Dean, having had many conversations with old friends they used to have, trying their hardest to put on faces whilst they waited on AJ coming back.

"She's taking a long time, man." Punk said anxiously, continuing to look down to where the bathroom was, "And I haven't even seen Rio."

"Chill out. Girls always take hours at the bathroom." Dean said calmly, swigging his beer over as Punk groaned, "You know what?" He said as Punk turned to him.

"What?" Punk questioned.

"Makes me glad that I don't live that life anymore." Dean nodded, "Glad I get to go home and see my wife, sleep in my own place, go to a job in the morning." He nodded to himself.

"Yeah, no kidding." Punk said, looking around.

Both of them immediately jumped when they heard gunshots. It dropped the whole party to a crowd of screaming and shrieking. Punk immediately grabbed Dean and pushed him down, looking around the room.

"Dude, what the fuck?!" Dean exclaimed.

The music stopped dead and many people went running out of the hall, but many stayed, some forming a crowd over by the dancefloor.

"Stay there. I gotta get April." Punk told him, the only thing on his mind, "Just stay there." He warned Dean, briskly walking over to the bathrooms, bursting into the females, simply not caring as he looked around. His heart really started to race once he saw the bathroom was empty.

He rushed back out, moving across the room, pushing his way past people in search for his girlfriend.

He somehow stumbled over to the floor area where some people were gathered, looking around for AJ who he eventually spotted standing, not moving.

"Ape." Punk said with relief, "April." He ran over to her as she turned to him, "Hey." He said, wrapping his arms around her immediately as she gulped and hugged him back tightly, "Are you ok? Are you good?" He checked her over worriedly as she just nodded.

"Phil." AJ looked up at him as Punk watching her turn to her left, looking on where all the people were standing.

Punk walked over, pushing his way past people and pausing when he saw the casualty on the ground, very much dead. He ran his hand through his hair, turning back to AJ who was standing with her hands shaking.

He shook his head and quickly made his way back out of the frantic, screaming crowd, taking AJ's hand.

"We need to get out of here." Punk told her as she walked with him, not knowing what to say.

"Dude, what the hell is going on?" Dean ran over to them, "Is someone hurt?"

"Rio's dead." Punk told him as Dean looked at him with raised brows, "We need to go. Now." Punk nodded to Dean who looked over at AJ who was shaking.

"Ok… Ok, let's go." Dean nodded as they left the party which had now turned into a wake.


	61. Back

**Back**

* * *

"I can't believe this." Dean said, pouring himself another shot of whiskey in his kitchen where AJ and Punk had gone back to. Renee was in the living room with Thea who had fallen asleep on the couch.

"He was… he was dead." Punk shook his head, "He was… he was just dead." Punk said. Believe it or not, it was the first time he'd ever seen a dead body. And the fact it was Rio, it was a shock for sure.

"Who the fuck shot at him on his wedding night?" Dean questioned, "You think the bullet was for him?"

"I have no idea." Punk said, "Guy has a lot of enemies I guess. Could be anyone." Punk nodded, turning to AJ who was standing beside the fridge, not saying much, "Dean, why don't you go let Renee know what happened, she looked worried when we came in." He said as Dean nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'll go tell her what went down." Dean said, pouring another whiskey and walking away with it into the living room whilst Punk looked over at AJ.

"Are you ok?" He asked, walking towards her as she nodded.

"Yeah." AJ said quietly as Punk watched her. He could see her hands were still shaking, and she was barely saying anything. He knew she was in shock, but he was worried about her, worried about what she had seen.

"Did you see something?" Punk asked her as she looked up at him, "You can tell me."

"No." AJ shook her head, "No, I… I didn't see it happening. I walked over after and I saw him on the ground. Saw him dead." AJ said, "I just… I was gonna look for him..." She shook her head, "But he's dead now." She said with shock, not believing it.

"I don't know who was out to get him. I don't know who was in his circle now and who he even worked with." Punk said, "Could be anyone."

"Why'd you rush us out?" AJ looked at him.

"You know why." Punk said as AJ shook her head, "Hamilton hears there was a shooting at Rio's wedding? He's the first one there. And he says us there… we're back on his list-"

"We never left his list." AJ corrected, "We just disappeared. Isn't that worse?" She questioned.

"No, we got out of the situation." Punk said, "If Hamilton saw us there he'd think we were back in cahoots with Rio. You know he would." He said as AJ sighed, running her hands through her hair.

"I can't believe he's dead." AJ shook her head. Rio was such a well-known figure in the neighbourhood, not for good reasons, but still, a very well-known person. It was a shock for him to have been killed like this.

"He obviously didn't see it coming." Punk said, "Obviously someone who wasn't on his radar-"

"But do you think it was someone who was at the party? Who had been invited?" AJ wondered. Of course they were just speculating.

"I don't know." Punk said, "It literally could be anyone. The guy had enemies, a ton of them. I remember from when I worked with him. I guess it's only gotten worse the more money he's made. And he's got that club… it's way bigger than it was when I worked with him." He said as AJ nodded.

"I just… I can't believe he's actually dead." AJ said. It wasn't that she was heartbroken to see him pass, it was just very shocking that this constant, gloomy figure in their life, was now simply… gone.

"Murdered on your wedding day." Punk groaned, running his hand through his hair which he pulled out of the band, "Movie shit." He said as AJ nodded.

"Shot right in the head." AJ shook her head. All she kept seeing was his dead body in her mind, over and over.

"Someone obviously knew what they were doing." Punk said, "And it's gotta be personal. If it was just… a flook or… terrorist shit, other people would have gotten hurt."

"Maybe someone saw something. Someone could end up getting arrested." AJ nodded.

"Yeah well with that many people, it'd be strange for someone not to see anything." Punk said, "But… it's the cops, and it's Rio… they're not gonna go out their way and break a sweat to find his murderer so soon." He said as AJ nodded.

"I just… I can't believe it." AJ shook her head.

"Me neither." Punk said.

They were both in shock. Witnessing anyone being murdered would have been shocking and terrifying enough but when it was someone who played such a role in their lives, a manipulative, controlling and in the end… hurtful role, it felt even more shocking.

"We should just get home." AJ suggested, "Get Thea and give Dean and Renee their own space. Dean looked pretty shook up."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Punk nodded to her.

* * *

Punk and AJ left Dean's apartment with Thea and got home where they immediately put Thea into her bed.

Punk walked into their bedroom, watching as AJ struggled to unzip her dress at the back.

"Need some help?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Yeah, please." AJ nodded as he walked over to her, brushing her hair to the side and unzipping her dress, "Thank you." She said as he nodded, rubbing her arms softly.

He walked over to their bed, sitting down on it and unbuttoning his shirt as he watched AJ take her dress off, "You can say it." Punk said as AJ turned around.

"Say what?" AJ asked.

"How you really feel about this." Punk nodded.

"I don't really feel like saying anything right now. I don't know how I feel." AJ said, "I'm just… I'm shocked. I set out tonight to stand up for myself, to not… sit in my silence." She said, "I come back home and he's dead." She shook her head. It was very hard to believe.

"I know." Punk nodded, "It doesn't feel real. It's not something you ever imagine happening." He said as AJ nodded.

"I'm not gonna say I'm glad he's dead if that's what you're getting at." AJ said.

"Yeah well he tried to rape you. I'm not gonna lose tears." He said, ripping his shirt off and throwing it in the wash basket as AJ nodded.

"I won't either." AJ assured him, "It's just all a little surreal right now." She admitted as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Punk said, walking towards her, "I know you wanted to talk to him." He said as AJ shrugged, "And get all your feelings out." He said as she nodded, "You can still get them out. Talk to me about it. Whenever you want to." He said as AJ nodded.

"I just wanted to stand up to him." AJ shrugged.

"Looks like someone else did too." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"It was just my chance to not feel weak about it all." AJ said, "I just… I can't believe he's dead, I can't believe that he actually got shot." She shook her head as Punk nodded.

He could see what disbelief she was in. He understood that Rio had been in her life since she was a little girl. Their relationship of course went from that of a kind figure to a living nightmare, and he knew that she wasn't upset about losing him, she was just in shock that this person, in both of their lives, was now gone.

"Hey." Punk said, cupping her cheek softly as she looked up at him, "He was an awful person. To us, to others. What he did to you proved what kind of person he was." He nodded, "But I know he was in your life since you were a kid."

"I'm just shocked." AJ said, "I'm not upset. I can still feel him pushing me down on that couch." She gulped, "And his… his hands on me." She said, repulsed, "It's just hard to believe that someone who caused so much trouble for us, someone who stayed hovering in our lives, in the background, is now just… gone." She shook her head as Punk nodded.

"I know." Punk said, "It's hard to believe." He nodded as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging into him as he hugged her back, "But it's gonna be fine." He assured her. For some reason, he felt more confident in saying that. The reason being, there seemed to be threat anymore in their lives, shadows lurking behind them.

"I don't wanna say I feel relieved but…" She looked up.

"You don't have to say anything." Punk looked down at her, brushing her hair out of her face, leaning down and kissing her softly as AJ kissed back.

Punk picked her up, their lips still locked in passion as he pushed her against the closet, her legs wrapping around his as she laced her fingers in his hair.

They couldn't get much further as they heard a knock on their door. Punk put AJ down onto her feet as she brushed her hair back.

"Who the hell is that?" AJ questioned as Punk walked over to the window, looking out and groaning to himself, this time with a little more worry, "Hamilton?" AJ asked.

"Yeah." Punk nodded, walking over to grab a t-shirt, changing his pants into some shorts, "I can just say you're asleep-"

"No, I'll be down in two minutes." AJ assured him, looking out some clothes as Punk nodded.

He walked out of the bedroom and downstairs, tying his hair back in a band as he walked over to the front door, opening it up as Hamilton stood smugly with a smile on his face.

"Can I help?" Punk questioned.

"Care to answer a few questions for me?" Hamilton asked, rudely stepping into the house without being invited in as Punk watched him wandering through to the kitchen.

"Yeah, if I have answers for them." Punk nodded, following him into the kitchen.

"So you were at the wedding." Hamilton nodded as Punk looked across at him.

"I was." Punk nodded.

"I thought you weren't about that life anymore?" Hamilton smiled, folding his arms.

"I'm not, but we got an invitation and we decided to go. It's not against the law to speak to people that I used to know." Punk said.

"Did you split after the shooting?" Hamilton questioned.

"Yeah, we did. April was kinda shook up. We all were. So we left." Punk nodded.

"Kinda quickly?" Hamilton looked across at him.

"Half the party cleared out at the same time. Stop reaching for things that aren't there." Punk said. He knew this officer so well, that it was almost impossible to treat him with any decency and respect.

"Some nice bruises you got on your eye. Some cuts too." Hamilton noticed as Punk nodded.

"Yeah, well spotted." Punk nodded.

"April beating you?" Hamilton attempted to joke as Punk looked at him.

"Of course you would find jokes like that funny." Punk nodded, "No, I got into a fight with Rio a few nights ago. It was actually over the wedding. Me and April weren't gonna go. He was mad and we just stepped on each other's toes." Punk said, keeping things simple, "Rolled around fighting in a car park and that was it." He said.

"So let me get this straight… you don't want to go to the wedding, then you have this huge fight with him, then you decide you want to go?" Hamilton questioned as Punk looked across at him, "Doesn't really seem right, does it?"

"What are you suggesting?" Punk asked.

"Who said I'm suggesting anything?" Hamilton smiled as AJ appeared into the kitchen, "Hello, April." He said as AJ nodded.

"It's late and you're not just allowed to come into our home and question us." AJ said.

"I don't like this." Hamilton admitted, "Don't you forget that I know it was Rio you tried putting in prison a few years ago." He pointed to AJ, "Seems like you two just weren't on his good books." He said as AJ and Punk looked at him.

"So what? Now you're coming in here blaming us for his death? Is that it?" Punk asked.

"I never said that." Hamilton smiled, "But you're right, April. It is late." Hamilton nodded, "But we'll be in touch." He nodded, almost thrilled to be able to say that to them as they watched him leave the kitchen, exiting the house whilst Punk turned to AJ who looked worriedly at him.


	62. Back Then

**Back Then**

* * *

"Are you awake?" AJ said, lying in bed later that night, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah." Punk muffled against the pillow, lying on his stomach as she turned to look at him, rolling onto her side as he done the same, "It's Hamilton. He's gonna reach." Punk nodded.

"He thinks we did it. And even if he didn't think it, he can see there's a link and he's gonna put us down." AJ said, "It does look pretty bad from where we're standing. You have a big fight with him a couple days ago. We're not close to him anymore. Hamilton knows that it was Rio I wanted to put in prison, he was in on it." AJ said.

"There's no evidence to say we did this." Punk said, "We were literally at the party when he got shot. We were there." He said.

"Yeah, but it's Hamilton." AJ shook her head, rolling onto her back and putting her hands in her hair, "Been on our case since we were kids. Been on your mom's case forever." She said.

"He can't look for things that aren't there." Punk said, "I know we've done our fair share of lying to him in the past, but what I told him was the truth. We got nothing to hide." Punk said as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, I know." AJ said, "You just know he loves this."

"Oh, of course he does." Punk nodded, "But we'll be fine." He shook his head.

"I just can't believe he's dead." AJ said. It was hard to let it sink in.

"Me neither." Punk admitted, "I remember the first time I met him. At your parent's place." He nodded.

"_Just beware, my family are pretty nuts." AJ nodded, "Your typical dysfunctional family. Actually, scrap the typical part. Just very dysfunctional." She said, walking down the street with Punk, just sixteen years old, searching for something better than the life she was living._

_She'd only known Punk for a few months, but in that time, they'd connected on a level that she didn't even quite understand. She couldn't believe she knew someone who actually understood what she was going through, someone she could share her problems with and know that he completely got it. _

"_April." Punk smiled to her._

"_What?" AJ turned to him._

"_Calm down." He suggested as she raised her eyebrows and nodded._

"_Right." AJ nodded, "Sorry, I just… I don't want them to scare you. Because they're really scary. Crazy actually."_

"_It's ok. I can handle it. I was raised by a pretty crazy mom myself." Punk nodded to her as she smiled._

"_Right." AJ nodded._

_They were still getting to know one another, and things were still very new, but it was going well. She thought he was the coolest person she'd ever met. His energy was magnetic, she just found herself wanting to be constantly around him, and further away from her parents._

"_So it's just your mom and dad that'll be in?" Punk asked._

"_Uh… sure." AJ nodded to him as he looked at her with a smile._

_As soon as he laid his eyes on her, he hadn't been able to leave her alone. He thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and the best part was her personality was just as beautiful._

_She felt like he brought out the best in her. The best energy. When she was with him she just wanted to go wild, live life on the edge._

"_Have you ever met parents before?" AJ smiled to him._

"_I haven't." Punk said, "I'm only a year older than you." He chuckled._

"_You've still had girlfriends." AJ shrugged, folding her arms._

"_I wouldn't call them girlfriends." Punk said as she looked at him, shaking her head with a smile._

"_This is my house." AJ said, eventually stopping outside her home as Punk nodded._

"_Ok, let's do this." Punk nodded to her._

"_Just promise me that when you meet them… don't let it ruin anything… you know-"_

"_April." Punk smiled._

"_Right." AJ nodded, "Ok." She said, walking up the steps as Punk followed._

_AJ walked into her house, closing the door over behind Punk._

"_Chiquita?!" Janet called, proceeding to yell out in Spanish as Punk turned to AJ._

"_Just a minute." AJ nodded to Punk, walking down the hallway and sticking her head into the living room, "Soy yo mama." _

_Punk stood watching and listening as AJ had a full back and forth conversation with her mother in Spanish, a little concerned that she was talking about him._

_AJ eventually finished answering her mother before turning around to Punk and nodding, waving her hand forward as he walked towards her._

_Punk turned the corner, walking into the living room and certainly not expecting to see what he did. He assumed he was going to be introduced to her mother and father, and maybe her brother. But instead… the room was completely full with people. Kids running around, a baby crying, many adults._

"_Everybody this is Phil." AJ announced to the people who were listening._

"_No eres guapo." Janet smiled, walking towards Punk._

"_English, mama." AJ warned as Janet waved her hand._

"_You sure he's seventeen?" Janet questioned._

"_Mom." AJ rolled her eyes._

"_I get that a lot actually." Punk nodded, "I am seventeen, though. It's nice to meet you." He said as Janet smiled._

"_Mhm." Janet nodded._

"_Is this the little Punk you're trying to date?" AJ's father, Robert, walked over._

"_Dad, be nice." AJ shook her head._

"_I was gonna say the little bastard." Robert said, "I am being nice."_

"_She's not trying. We are… dating." Punk nodded. His issue most often than not, was having too much confidence, and his mouth getting him into trouble more than anything else._

"_Oh, you are?" Robert nodded, taken back by the confidence, "She's just a little girl." Robert said, "You hurt her and I'll break your neck." He nodded as Punk looked at him, realising he was being serious._

"_Dad." AJ warned, feeling embarrassed already, "I'm gonna… take Phil for a drink." AJ said._

"_I'm sure you already have." Janet scoffed salaciously as AJ rolled her eyes. She was used to her parents strange behaviour. _

"_Go." AJ shoved Punk out of the living room and bac into the hallway, taking him through to the kitchen._

"_Who the hell are all those people?" Punk questioned._

"_They're just family friends." AJ nodded, "Some aunts and uncles." AJ said, "Not particularly good friends, if you know what I mean." She said, grabbing a drink from the fridge._

"_Is this you?" He smiled, taking a picture from the fridge of what he assumed was her when she was a little girl._

"_Oh, yeah. That's me." AJ smiled, "Throwing up the horns." She nodded._

"_Nice." He said as she smiled._

"_I'm sorry about my dad." AJ shook her head._

"_It's ok. He's just protective of you." Punk shrugged, "Things still look sort of unpacked here." He said, noticing boxes lying around._

"_Oh, yeah we've barely unpacked." AJ said, "My mom's plan is to move back to Puerto Rico in a few years." She nodded._

"_Really?" Punk asked as AJ nodded, "Something you'd be on board with?"_

"_No." AJ shook her head, "No, I wanna stay here." She nodded as he smiled._

_Their relationship had gone all the way yet. They had done some things, fooled around, but never went all the way. They wanted too, though. But it was hard finding the place and the time._

"_They seem like… fairly nice people." Punk concluded briefly as AJ chuckled a little._

"_You don't have to lie." She assured him, "My dad just said he was gonna break your neck."_

"_I've had worse said to me." Punk nodded, "You wanna stay at mine tonight?"_

"_Is your mom home?" AJ asked._

"_She wasn't last night. So probably not." Punk said as AJ nodded._

"_Yeah, I'll stay." She smiled, "Maybe we can…" She smiled, "You know." She shrugged innocently._

"_I don't." Punk teased, "Do tell me." He said as she smiled, looking over at him as someone suddenly walked into the kitchen._

"_April." Rio nodded to her as AJ looked over._

"_Oh, hi Rio." AJ smiled._

"_Who is your friend?" Rio asked._

"_This is Phil. He's my boyfriend." AJ corrected._

"_A boyfriend?" Rio smiled, "Nice to meet you, Phil." Rio nodded._

"_Phil, this is Rio, he's a friend of my family." AJ nodded._

"_I hope you're treating this girl well." Rio said as Punk nodded._

"_He is." AJ nodded, "I don't think we're gonna stick around here long." She said._

"_Well here." Rio dug into his wallet and took out some money, "Take this, go for some dinner, see if you can find a cheap motel or something." He said._

"_Oh, we don't need your money." Punk said immediately._

"_No, really." Rio nodded, "Go out and have some fun." Rio said, handing the money over as AJ took it. _

"_Really?" AJ looked at him as Rio nodded._

"_Sure." Rio nodded, grabbing a beer from the fridge, "Put it to good use." He said as Punk looked across at him._

"_Thanks, man." Punk nodded. As young, impressionable teens, even just a couple bucks was a huge deal to them, but the amount Rio had given them felt like endless possibilities._

"_Enjoy it." Rio waved his hand, "I'll be stuck here all night negotiating with your parents. Someone should go have fun." He said, "I'll catch you later." He nodded to them both before leaving the kitchen._

"_Negotiating?" Punk turned to AJ who nodded._

"_Yeah, Rio is sort of… a drug dealer." AJ said, "But hey look at all this money." She said with wide eyes._

"_He's a drug dealer?" Punk shook his head, "And what… your family-"_

"_He just helps them out when they need extra cash." AJ said, "That's it. He's super nice. Helpful. You two would get along." She nodded, "He's good friends with my brother."_

"_You think I'd get along with a drug dealer?" Punk questioned._

"_Well not because he sells drugs, obviously." AJ said, "He's a nice person. He'd be the first person to help us." She said, "It's almost like having a rich uncle." She shrugged._

"_He's gave us like eighty bucks." Punk shook his head._

"_Yeah, he… he has a lot of money." AJ nodded._

"_No shit." Punk said, fascinated, "Well what the hell do you wanna do with this? I feel bad taking it."_

"_Don't." AJ scoffed, "I don't know about you, but I'll be at a motel." She smirked as he smiled across at her, "So I'm gonna go pack a bag." She said excitedly, rushing out of the kitchen as Punk raised his eyebrows._

_He knew AJ dealt with similar issues he did at home, but he didn't know it was quite like this. _

_He stood, holding the money in his hands. It was the most money he'd ever held in his entire life. He barely even noticed AJ's father walking into the kitchen._

"_Did Rio give you that?" Robert asked as Punk looked up._

"_Uh… yeah, yeah he said to go take April for dinner." Punk nodded, figuring he'd not mention the motel part for obvious reasons._

"_Mhm." Robert hummed, walking over a little closer to Punk, "I would advise you not to take money from him, kid." He nodded in a serious tone as Punk looked at him, "I would actually advise you not to speak to him."_

"_He seemed like a nice guy." Punk shook his head._

"_Yeah, he is." Robert nodded, "That's the problem." He said as Punk looked across at him._

"_Ok." Punk said in a confused tone, not really understanding what that meant._

"_You want a beer?" Robert asked him, going into the fridge._

"_No, I don't drink." Punk shook his head._

"_Cigarette? They're over there." Robert pointed._

"_I don't smoke either." Punk said as Robert looked across at him._

"_Where the hell did April find you?" Robert chuckled, wandering out of the kitchen as Punk just looked down at the money. It felt surreal to hold that much money, and to see the way Rio had just given it away so freely, with no questions asked. It was fascinating._

"I'd never held that much money in my life." Punk said as AJ curled into him in their bed, neither being able to sleep as they thought back to many years ago.

"He liked you." AJ nodded, "He really liked you."

"I should have saw him for what he was right away." Punk shook his head.

"You were a kid. We were both kids. We liked the money, we liked the freedom it gave us." AJ said, "I should never have let you work for him."

"I made that decision on my own." Punk said, "That was my mistake." Punk nodded.

"Do you think it was my karma?" AJ asked him.

"What?" Punk questioned.

"I tried to put him in prison." AJ said, "Was my karma him attacking me? Me living in absolute poverty for a year. Having a baby on my own-"

"What he did to you was wrong. Straight up. It wasn't your fault and it certainly wasn't what you deserved. And don't you dare think it was." Punk said, "Granted, he could have been mad with you about the prison thing but… under no circumstance did he have a right to put his hands on you." Punk said, "Nothing will change that." He made clear as AJ nodded.

"I think a lot of people's lives might get easier now he's gone." AJ admitted, "All the people he had working for him. The people that he was lurking behind. In the shadows of." She said.

"Yeah, for sure." Punk nodded.

"I just Hamilton keeps us out of it." AJ said.

"Well you know he's gonna try his best to involve us as much as he can." Punk said, "But he'll only get so far. Like always." He shook his head as AJ nodded. Her eyes were nipping with tiredness and in the comfort and safety of her boyfriend's arms, she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

Punk looked down, noticing she had fallen asleep. He kissed her forehead and shut the bedside light off.


	63. Stand Up

**Stand Up**

* * *

AJ was at college the next day. She was of course sitting at the back of the class, not bothering to pay much attention as she drew pictures on her notebook. Her mind was too far gone to concentrate like she normally did.

Her head only lifted when she heard the side door opening, watching in horror as Hamilton walked through the door. She rolled her eyes, tapping her pen off her book nervously as she watched her lecturer talk to him. If there was one thing to be embarrassed about, it was being pulled out of her class by a police officer.

"Uh… April." Her lecturer looking over at her as everyone turned around and looked at her.

"Yeah." AJ stood up, walking out of her row and down the steps where Hamilton was standing waiting.

"She won't be long." Hamilton nodded, leaving the class as AJ followed.

"Couldn't have waited until my class was done?" AJ spat.

"My schedule doesn't revolve around yours." Hamilton said, "Somewhere we can go talk?" He asked, walking briskly in front of her.

"There's a coffee bar down here." AJ pointed.

"How the hell did you get into this college?" Hamilton chuckled to himself as AJ looked at him. She knew she was above his petty remarks, but that didn't meant they didn't hurt her.

"I worked hard." AJ replied calmly as Hamilton just scoffed, walking into the coffee area and over to a table as she followed and took a seat, "What is this about? Well… I know what it'll be about but… what do you want from me?" AJ questioned.

"I wanna know what you saw at that party." Hamilton said, "I've known you and Phil since you were kids. You're trouble. You always have been. When I made that deal with you years ago, to try and get Rio put in prison, I saw that hatred you had for him in your eyes." He said, "Three years later, you're at his wedding?"

"I was trying to protect Phil back then and you know that." AJ said, "We're not bad people-"

"Well…" Hamilton scoffed.

"We're not." AJ said, "We've made mistakes, yeah. Some worse than others. But we've moved on. Why can't you see that?"

"Maybe because you were at a party filled with Rio's connections." Hamilton said, "If you hated him so much… why go celebrate his wedding?" He questioned.

"We'd moved on and there were old friends there, we just went to show face and that's what he did." AJ said, "We didn't see anything."

"Well how long did you go for?" Hamilton questioned.

"We were there a half hour before he… before the shooting." AJ nodded, "Look, I know you don't like us for some reason. We're not perfect. And maybe yeah, our relationship with Rio was a little strange but… we did not have anything to do with his murder, and deep down you know that we don't." She said as he looked across at her.

"Who did you talk to at the wedding?" Hamilton asked as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Uh… just an old friend from a few years ago. Anitta." AJ nodded, "In the bathroom."

"Just her?"

"Yeah." AJ said, "And when I came out, that's when the shooting happened." She nodded, "Phil and Dean were sitting at a table." She nodded.

"And why'd you go off running?" Hamilton asked.

"Because someone had just been shot." AJ said, "Are you questioning all the other people who took off running?" She said, "Look… we had nothing to do with it. You're just jumping at any opportunity to put us down but it's not gonna work." She said, "I mean do you know how hard it is being patronised by you? Being looked down on?" She questioned, "Me and Phil have worked hard at building a better life for ourselves, for our daughter." She said, "Yes, I come to this college because I spent a lot of time resitting my school exams and making sure I got the right grades to get in." She said, "And Phil has come such a long way. He paid for his mistakes. For an entire year. He missed things. He missed the birth of his first kid." AJ said, "He worked hard, we both did to buy our own house." She said, "And we work hard to be good parents, and damn it we are." She exclaimed as Hamilton looked across at her.

"Calm down." Hamilton said.

"No…. no, it pisses me off." AJ spat, "Rio is dead. It's not secret you're thrilled about that. I know he was a horrible person, believe me. And we distanced ourselves from him… and you still stayed on our backs." She said, "You spat on Phil. You were racist to me… many times." She reminded him, "And I'm not gonna let you put pieces together and come up with a false conclusion that we actually had something to do with Rio's death." She said as Hamilton looked across at her.

AJ took a deep breath, realising she hadn't taken one a long time, just about near losing her head with Hamilton. Luckily the coffee shop was empty and there was barely anyone around.

She looked across at him, noticing he wasn't saying anything, simply sitting in silence.

"You're keeping me from my class." AJ told him as Hamilton looked at her.

"You can go." Hamilton nodded quietly as AJ looked across at him.

"You're done with your questions?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah." Hamilton nodded to her as AJ stood up and walked away from him.

* * *

"Hey, look… mommy's home." Punk said, sitting at the kitchen table with Thea having dinner, hearing AJ come in the door.

"Can I have my jello now?" Thea asked Punk who looked at her.

"You've not touched your dinner." Punk pointed out as Thea shrugged.

"I will if I have my jello first." Thea decided.

"Nice try." Punk shook his head as Thea scoffed, sitting Harold on top of the table, pulling her plate in and lifting her fork as AJ came into the kitchen.

"Hey." AJ smiled.

"Hello." Punk said, "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm ok." AJ smiled, leaning down and giving Thea a hug from behind as the three year old grinned and cuddled into her mother, "Hi, baby." She said as Punk waited for his hug, "And my other baby." She said, giving Punk a hug from behind, kissing his cheek and rubbing his back softly, "This looks nice." She nodded to the dinner.

"It's not." Thea cared to let her not.

"It's chicken and mashed potatoes. You like both of those things." Punk said.

"When mommy makes them." Thea said as Punk scoffed.

"She's being mean to me." Punk told AJ childishly as Thea smiled.

"The potatoes are lumpy, mommy!" Thea exclaimed as AJ raised her eyebrows whilst Punk gasped dramatically.

"They are not." Punk said.

"They are." Thea protested, "Even Harold won't eat them." She shook her head as Punk scoffed.

"Well…" Punk said, "There's some lumpy potatoes if you want them. I made you up a plate you can heat up." He said as AJ smiled and nodded, "How was college? And work?"

"Work was fine." AJ nodded, "Hamilton pulled me out of class this morning." She said as he turned to her.

"He what?" Punk questioned angrily.

"Yeah, as if he couldn't wait until I was done. So damn embarrassing." AJ rolled her eyes as Punk shook his head, "Weird thing happened, though."

"What?" Punk asked.

"He let me talk and… I think I might have told him off?" AJ wondered to herself.

"Really?" Punk questioned.

"Yeah. He was questioning me about the wedding, why we were there, who I spoke to… basically trying to say we did it or we knew who did it." AJ said, "And I just lost it." She said, "Literally lost it with him. And then he had nothing else to say. I went back to class." She nodded.

"You've lost it with him before, though." Punk said.

"Not like that. I went off." AJ nodded, "I'm just so sick of it." She shook her head, "Sick of him treating us like we're bad people. Instead of focusing on us, he could be out there finding the real killer." She said.

"He just let you go off like that and never said anything back?" Punk questioned. It was hard to believe, considering Hamilton was such an evil person.

"Yeah, he just let me go on and then that was it." AJ said, "It was weird."

"Maybe he finally listened." Punk scoffed, "What'd you say to him anyway?"

"I just went off about him looking down on us, not seeing that we've moved on, we're not bad people." She said.

"You think they'll find who did it?" Punk asked her.

"I mean if they try hard enough." AJ nodded, "But it was Rio, the cops hated him… they're not gonna be in a hurry." She shook her head, taking her dinner and sitting down at the table with them.

"Yeah, I guess so." Punk said, "As long as Hamilton is off our backs." He shook his head.

"Well like you said last night, there's nothing for him to go on with. We were there just like everyone else." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"How you feeling? You know… about everything?" He asked her.

"Better." AJ nodded, "Better than I thought." She said, "Whatever shady business he got into, it obviously got caught up with him and… I'm so glad that we're nowhere near that anymore." She said, "The shock is kinda going away and… I don't wanna say it feels like justice but…"

"But it feels like justice?" Punk said as she smiled a little and nodded, "I just don't want you to think that you never got all of that stuff you wanted to say to him off your chest."

"Yeah, I was sort of thinking about that last night." AJ said, "But… what I was gonna say to him wasn't for him, it was for me. It was so I could move on. He wouldn't have cared less what I had to say." She shrugged, "But I think I'm at peace with how I feel about it. In a way I sort of got it all out with you anyway." She nodded.

"You can always talk to me about it." Punk said, "Don't think because it might hurt me that I wouldn't wanna listen and be there for you." He said.

"Hey, I know that." AJ nodded, "I think we're gonna be fine." She said as he smiled.

"We always are." Punk winked across to her as she smiled, both of them turning to Thea who was pretending to be sick, "Now you're being childish." Punk said as Thea stuck her tongue out at him.

AJ just shook her head, taking a mouthful of potatoes as she looked across at Punk, "Jesus, Phil… these are pretty lumpy." AJ raised her eyebrows as Punk looked at her, unamused whilst Thea chuckled to herself.

"See!" Thea exclaimed as AJ smiled, looking across at Punk who just shrugged.

"Go knock yourselves out with six pots of jello for dinner." He said as AJ smiled, tapping his leg under the table playfully as he smiled back at her.


	64. Life

**Life**

* * *

_One year later…_

"Ok, let's rock and roll." Punk nodded, getting out of the car, opening up the back door as Thea hopped out. She was wearing a little pink summery dress with a sun hat on and some shades. She really was the coolest kid. Of course she had Harold with her.

"I'm ready." Thea nodded.

"Good, I'm glad." Punk said, "Ok, this is for you to give to mommy." He said, handing Thea the gift bag whilst he reached into the car and brought the flowers out.

"I want to give her the flowers." Thea said.

"Ok then, switch." Punk nodded, handing her the flowers as he took the gift bag.

"No, I want to give her both." Thea reiterated as Punk looked at her.

"Well what am I going to give her?" Punk questioned.

"You can give her a kiss." Thea concluded, taking the gift bag from Punk.

"Well at least I know she likes them." Punk mumbled to himself, closing the car door, "You don't need the toilet, do you?" He asked.

"No. I went before I left, daddy." Thea told him as Punk nodded.

"Ok, good." Punk nodded, "We got everything?" He asked.

"The camera." Thea reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." Punk said, reaching back into the car for the camera, "Ok, now we got everything?" He said as Thea nodded, "Let's go." He said, taking her hand as he walked across the car park with her.

"There's so many people." Thea said, raising her sunglasses and looking around.

It was a peak Summer's day and the spirit in the air, in their surroundings, were immensely positive.

"Ok, let's see if we can find her." Punk nodded, "Everyone kinda looks the same." He said as Thea looked around, finding her mother in a heartbeat.

"Found her!" Thea exclaimed, letting go of Punk's hand and running to get her mother. Punk smiled, watching as AJ noticed Thea.

"Hey." AJ smiled excitedly, crouching down as Thea run over to her, "Hi, baby." AJ said.

"Hi, mommy. These are for you." Thea showed her the flowers and the gift.

"Oh, wow." AJ smiled, "For me?"

"Yes." Thea nodded as AJ smiled.

"I love this hat." AJ said, "This is definitely a daddy outfit, huh?" He nodded.

"No, I picked it myself." Thea corrected, taking her sunglasses off as AJ smiled.

"Well you look so pretty." AJ said.

"So do you." Thea replied as AJ smiled, wrapping her arms around her baby girl and squeezing her tightly. Her number one supporters had arrived and she was so glad to see them, "Thank you for the flowers, sweetie." She said, kissing her cheek as Thea smiled as Punk eventually walked over, catching up.

"Hey, there's the hottest graduate I know." Punk said as AJ smiled and looked up, standing back up straight, "Come here." He smiled, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I'm so damn proud of you." He said as AJ smiled, hugging him back tightly whilst Thea sat down on the grass with Harold.

"Thank you." AJ smiled, scratching the back of his head playfully under his cap as he smiled, "And thank you for the flowers and gift." She kissed his cheek.

"What? Thea got you that. Paid with her own monopoly money and everything." He said as AJ chuckled and nodded, "You get my gift later."

"Oh, I do?" AJ smiled.

"Yeah." Punk promised as she smiled.

She couldn't believe the day had come where she had actually finished and graduate from college. Next to having a child, it was one of the greatest accomplishments she'd made, and she felt proud of herself for sure.

"I can't believe this day actually happened." AJ shook her head, "It's crazy."

"It's amazing." Punk nodded. To have been on this journey with her was incredible, seeing how hard she worked, how determined she was to do something for herself. It was amazing and he was inspired by her every day.

"Can I also just say that we have the coolest kid in the world?" AJ said, turning and looking over at Thea who was sitting on the grass, her shades back on as she pretended to sunbathe.

"Yeah, she's badass." Punk nodded as AJ smiled, "So where are we going to celebrate?" He asked her.

"I'm not fussed. Anywhere." AJ smiled.

"No, this is your night. You pick somewhere you love." He nodded.

"Leave it with me." AJ said as Punk nodded.

"Hey, happy April graduation day!" Dean yelled loudly as some other families turned around and stared at him, "Who is ready to party?" He asked, arriving with Renee, holding a bottle of what looked like champagne.

"I guess it is true, we do hear him before we see him." Punk nodded as Dean slapped him on the back of the head.

"Didn't come here to see you." Dean said, "Congratulations." He smiled, embracing AJ tightly.

"Thanks, sweetie." AJ kissed his cheek.

"Proud of you." Dean said as AJ smiled, "This is for you." He extended the bottle to her as AJ raised her eyebrows.

"You know I don't drink." AJ chuckled.

"I do, and that's why it's alcohol free." Dean winked as AJ smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." AJ laughed whilst embracing Renee.

"And who the hell is this?" Dean looked over at Thea who was lying on the grass in the sun with her shades and hat on, hands behind her head and her legs crossed, "She's aead of her time." Dean nodded.

"So where are we going to celebrate?" Renee asked AJ, "Somewhere you love."

"God, I don't know. I don't really know a lot of places." AJ laughed to herself, "Just somewhere nice and chill. You guys pick, seriously. I don't mind." She nodded.

"When are we heading out?" Dean asked.

"Why don't we just head home, get changed and then head out?" Punk asked.

"So this is an all-day drinking event?" Dean smiled, "I like it." He nodded as Renee shoved him playfully, "That's fine with us."

"Ok." AJ nodded, "Oh, no wait… pictures." AJ said, "I only got my official ones but I want more." She said, "Thea, baby… come get your picture taken with mommy." She said as Punk turned the camera on.

"Ok." Thea got up from the grass, dusting herself down as she ran over to her mother.

AJ crouched down behind her, smiling whilst Thea also gave a grin. Punk then joined in whilst Dean snapped some pictures. Sweet pictures they could look back on in the future.

"Ok, I just want one with you." AJ nodded to Punk.

"Fuck them kids." Dean nodded as Punk scoffed, putting Thea down on the ground as she ran back over to sit on the grass, "Aren't you two cute?" He teased as Punk put his arm around AJ as she hugged into him. It was a pretty special day in her life, and even more special that she could share it with her family.

* * *

Once getting home from AJ's college, they got a quick change and headed out. They ended up in a BBQ joint, sitting outside in the sun, enjoying good food and better company with each other.

The year had been difficult for sure, and today was the biggest pay off she could have ever gotten. The hard work had lead up to this day and she was enjoying every second, as were her family who were there for her through the whole journey.

"I'm just gonna start ordering two plates of my dinner now." Punk shrugged, having Thea sitting on his knee, eating the food he'd gotten. She always appeared to be intrigued by his food instead of her own. He was sure she did it just to be devious.

"Girl likes her ribs." Dean chuckled, noticing Thea had rib sauce all over her face.

"So how does it feel to know you never have to take another class again?" Renee asked as AJ grabbed the jug of water to refill their glasses.

"It feels amazing." AJ chuckled, "But I guess the hard part comes now with… finding a job that I wanna do." She nodded, "Ain't no way I'm going through college to not get a decent job in the end." She said as Renee nodded.

"Damn right." Renee agreed, "What sort of thing would you be looking at?" She asked.

"Well I'd really like to write, obviously." AJ nodded, "Maybe in an agency or… advertisement gig somewhere." She shrugged.

"You know, I work with a girl whose mom works for InStyle, she writes for them. But she's got connections elsewhere too." Renee said, "I can talk to her if you like."

"Oh my God, that'd be amazing." AJ shook her head.

"I'll see her tomorrow." Renee nodded, "For sure I'll ask her."

"Thank you." AJ shook her head as Renee smiled.

"Did you pop your none alcoholic champagne yet?" Dean asked as AJ chuckled.

"No, I think we'll save it for later." AJ smiled to Punk who just chuckled to himself.

"Really? When I'm eating?" Dean looked across at her as she nodded.

"Mommy." Thea said, sitting on Punk's knee and moving on to eating his fries.

"What?" AJ smiled.

"Did you finish school today?" Thea asked her curiously as AJ smiled at her sweetness.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda did." AJ nodded, "You have a little…" AJ pointed to her mouth where Thea had a ton of sauce over.

"Here?" Thea asked, dabbing a tiny part of her face, even though the sauce was everywhere.

"Yeah, you got it." AJ smiled as Thea nodded.

* * *

Later that night, they moved into a kid friendly moonlight bar in town. The atmosphere was warm. Chatter and music filled the air, and it was the perfect end to a beautiful day.

"They totally want a kid." AJ said, slow dancing with Punk in the bar whilst looking over at Thea who was sitting with Dean and Renee, entertaining them of course.

"You think?" Punk asked, his arms around her waist whilst she rested her head on his chest.

"Oh, yeah. For sure." AJ nodded.

"Maybe they just want our kid? She's pretty likeable." Punk teased as AJ smiled.

"Yeah, she's the best." AJ said, "And you know… I'd have this no other way…" She looked up at him, "Having her so young… taught me so much about myself that I didn't know. And doing this, doing college, with her… just made me so much more determined." She nodded as Punk smiled.

"She's your number one fan." Punk nodded as AJ smiled.

"She is." AJ nodded, "And you." She said, cupping his cheek, "Couldn't have gotten through it without you, especially the last year."

"Hey, I was just there to cheer you on. You did the work." He nodded.

"Well the cheering on was important." AJ nodded as Punk smiled.

"I knew you'd do it. Second you told me you wanted to go to college, I knew it." Punk said as she smiled, "You're the strongest woman I know. And my favourite girl. Always."

"You tell Thea she's your favourite." AJ raised a brow.

"Yeah well I have to say it to you both." Punk said, "You're both my favourite." He said as she smiled.

"We've came such a long way." AJ shook her head, "I still feel sixteen." She admitted.

"You practically are." Punk scoffed as she chuckled.

"Not really." AJ said, "I'm just… I'm glad we're in this together." She said as Punk nodded, "It's all very well doing these great things, going to college, getting a house, but… that's not been the best part. It's getting to do them with you." AJ nodded, "That's the best part." She nodded as he smiled.

"I love you so much." He nodded.

"I love you." She smiled, looking up at him, leaning up and kissing him sweetly. She really felt like now… now they're life was really beginning. They'd grown, they'd learned, they'd hurt, they'd loved and lost. They were tackling this thing called life, and they were doing it together.

* * *

**A/N: Wrapped up this story here, but there will be a sequel so look out for that coming soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing, having fun with this one and there's more to come, lot of loose ends and answers to be had so be sure to check in on the sequel coming soon.**


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